Opinion ID: 3001217
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Probable Cause to Arrest Hobbs

Text: Hobbs argues that the officers lacked probable cause to stop and arrest him in the pharmacy parking lot. First, Hobbs contends that the statement given by his ex-girlfriend, Contina Gray, about the murder of Jason Hardges, does not establish probable cause to arrest him for that murder. Hobbs claims that Gray is a bitter ex-lover who lacks reliability or trustworthiness. Probable cause to arrest exists when officers “possess knowledge from reasonably trustworthy information that is sufficient to warrant a prudent person in believing that [the] suspect has committed, or is committing, a crime.” United States v. Brown, 366 F.3d 456, 458 (7th Cir. 2004). Again, probable cause is a commonsense principle grounded in the totality of the circumstances at the time of arrest and the reasonable interpretations of the arresting officers. Id. No. 06-3371 11 On August 10, 2005, the Peoria police officers had probable cause to arrest Hobbs for Hardges’s murder. The officers knew that Hobbs had a history of violent crime. They also knew, from Hobbs’s own statement to the police, that Hobbs had the opportunity to kill Hardges that night, since they were together the night of the murder to conduct a drug deal—an activity that, in the officers’ experience, frequently leads to physical violence, including murder. While Hobbs denied any involvement in the murder, the officers reasonably believed that Hobbs had lied to them about what he and Hardges did and where they went the night of the murder. While Hobbs claimed that he and Hardges went to a liquor store and then Hardges left in a white-colored cab, the liquor store owner, familiar with both men, said that neither of them were in the store that night. Nor did any cab company operating white-colored cabs in the Peoria area have any record of a pick-up in the area Hobbs’s described. The officers reasonably believed that Hobbs lied since his alibi had failed him. As to Gray’s credibility, Hobbs ignores the fact that the officers corroborated her statements. Gray’s statement contained non-public details about the murder, including the precise location of the murder within the dwelling on Russell Street, the number of times Hardges had been shot, and the location of the murder weapon. Only the murderer and a few Peoria police officers knew these details. The officers also verified Gray’s statement about Hobbs throwing a bag of clothing into a ravine by going to the ravine and finding a bag containing a sweatshirt described by Gray. Finally, the officers reasonably believed Gray’s statements about Hobbs’s nervous behavior on the night of the murder and the following day. Nothing in Gray’s explanation of his nervousness or interest in the local news reports on the murder contradicted any of her 12 No. 06-3371 other statements or otherwise appeared disingenuous. Even if Gray’s statement was provided out of her spite for Hobbs, her testimony was nevertheless a source of valuable and credible information, corroborated by the Peoria police. See, e.g., United States v. Connors, 441 F.3d 527, 530 (7th Cir. 2006) (finding that a former lover’s betrayal or cooperation with the government does not warrant evidence unreliable or inadmissible). Based on the totality of these circumstances—a record of violent crime, an opportunity to commit the crime, a false exculpatory statement, a confession to a former girlfriend, nervous and bizarre behavior surrounding the news of Hardges possibly surviving the shooting, and the corroboration of the former girlfriend’s report to the police—the district court properly concluded that the officers had probable cause to arrest Hobbs for murder. Hobbs also contends that the officers lacked probable cause to arrest him for driving on a suspended license. Hobbs claims that simply because Oberle discovered at some unidentified point during the Hardges murder investigation that his license was suspended, Oberle did not have probable cause to suspect that Hobbs’s license was still suspended at the time of the arrest. The only evidence regarding Hobbs’s driving privileges was Oberle’s testimony that sometime prior to Hobbs’s arrest, he had discovered that Hobbs’s driver’s license was suspended. Oberle also testified at the suppression hearing that at the time of the arrest, he was still of the belief that Hobbs’s license was suspended. The district court judge found Oberle’s testimony to be credible, and without clear error, we refuse to disturb that credibility determination. See United States v. Thompson, 496 F.3d 807, 809 (7th Cir. 2007) (“Because the resolution of a motion to suppress is a fact-specific inquiry, we give deference to credibility determinations of the district No. 06-3371 13 court judge, who had the opportunity to listen to testi- mony and observe the witnesses at the suppression hearing.”) In light of Oberle’s belief that Hobbs’s license was still suspended and the complete lack of evidence to the contrary, the officers also had probable cause to arrest Hobbs for driving with a suspended license. The district court properly denied Hobbs’s motion to suppress the evidence obtained from Hobbs’s car.