Court Opinion

ID: 9636355
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:24:57.806205+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:44.496095
License: Public Domain

JOHNSON, Judge,
dissenting:
In my view the trial court correctly granted the motion to suppress on the grounds that the entry into the apartment for the purpose of arresting Hartford for the sale of cocaine five months previously was illegal, and therefore the evidence seized at that time to support the charges for the second arrest of Hartford and Demmer should be suppressed as directly resulting from that illegal arrest. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963). I therefore dissent.
In Commonwealth v. Williams, 483 Pa. 293, 396 A.2d 1177 (1978), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 912, 100 S.Ct. 1843, 64 L.Ed.2d 266 (1980), our supreme court held that a warrant-*221less arrest in the home is illegal except in certain specific circumstances.
The circumstances which may justify a warrantless arrest in the home are: (1) that a grave offense is involved, particularly a crime of violence, (2) that the suspect is reasonably believed to be armed, (3) that there is a clear showing of probable cause to arrest, (4) that there is reason to believe that the suspect is on the premises, (5) there is a likelihood that the suspect will escape, (6) there was a peaceable though non-consensual entry, and (7) whether or not the entry was made at night. Commonwealth v. Williams, 483 Pa. at 297-300, 396 A.2d at 1179-80.
The trial court and the majority of this panel of the superior court concluded, and I agree, that factors (3), (4), (6) and (7) would permit a warrantless entry in this case. But the trial court also concluded, as do I, that application of the other factors shifts the balance against a finding of legality for this warrantless arrest in the home, thus warranting suppression of the evidence seized as a result of the illegal entry.
The initial arrest of Hartford was for the sale, five months earlier, in Hartford’s apartment, of two grams of cocaine. At the suppression hearing on the charges involved in the second arrest Detective Ransley testified that he did not arrest Hartford at the time of the sale because he wanted to further the investigation by making other purchases from Hartford. N.T. June 30, 1980 at 4. About a month after the sale Detective Ransley was told by his informant that Hartford had moved. Then five months after the sale Ransley was told by the informant that Hartford was at the address in question in this appeal.
It appears that the only attempt Ransley made to contact Hartford during the five months was an unsuccessful telephone call as a result of which Ransley discovered that Hartford’s telephone was disconnected. The detective did not appear to have inquired from the telephone company whether or not there was a new listing for Hartford.
*222After being told by the informant of Hartford’s new whereabouts, the detectives did not attempt to obtain an arrest warrant before proceeding to the address, ostensibly because no magistrate was available at that hour (6-7 p.m.). They went to the address, and learned that Hartford was living there, apparently quite openly (his car was in the garage and his name on the mailbox). They still did not attempt to obtain an arrest warrant, but, having been pointed in the right direction by the manager, proceeded directly to Hartford’s apartment door. Then, when the door opened and the detectives asked if-they could enter, they went inside the apartment for the purpose of arresting Hartford for the first sale of cocaine. In the process of arresting Hartford they saw the drugs and drug paraphernalia. This prompted them to arrest Hartford and Demmer on new charges. It is these charges and the evidence connected with them which are the subject of this appeal.
The Commonwealth argues, and the majority agrees, that exigent circumstances existed in that the suspect might again flee.
I disagree.
I believe that the testimony at the suppression hearing indicates that the detective was not diligent in searching Hartford’s whereabouts. I also conclude that Hartford had simply moved rather than fled. And I strongly disagree that there were any exigent circumstances justifying the arrest without a warrant. On direct examination, when asked the purpose for going to the Waverly Street address, detective Ransley stated, “To see if Mr. Hartford was there. We were going to arrest him.” N.T. at 8. Once the detectives had seen Hartford’s vehicle in the garage, or his name on the mailbox, they should have taken no further action without first obtaining an arrest warrant. By entering the building and approaching Hartford’s door, the officers created their own arguably exigent circumstances. This is hardly the type of exigent circumstances which the courts envisage when they uphold warrantless arrests in the home'.
*223In United States v. Minick, 455 A.2d 874 (D.C.App.1983), the court decided that exigent circumstances excused a warrantless entry of a rape and murder suspect’s home within a few hours of the crime and shortly after police had obtained clear probable cause to arrest the suspect, because any further delay might lead to destruction of critical evidence on the suspect’s clothes and person. In Commonwealth v. Wagner, 486 Pa. 548, 406 A.2d 1026 (1979), application of the Williams factors (3), (4) and (7) weighed in favor of upholding the warrantless arrest of a theft suspect, but the fact that the crime was not one of violence and was committed six months previously led to the conclusion that swift apprehension was unnecessary. Furthermore, the suspect was not thought to be armed and the entry into the home was forcible. Our supreme court concluded that the arrest was illegal, and reversed the judgment of sentence. In Commonwealth v. Eliff, 300 Pa.Super. 423, 446 A.2d 927 (1982), the crime, as here, was unlawful delivery of controlled substances, thus, though a felony, it was not a crime of violence. Also, it had been committed four months earlier. There was no indication that the suspect would escape if not captured immediately, and no indication that he was armed. This court, applying the Williams factors to a “knock and announce” case, concluded that swift apprehension was not necessary and that exigent circumstances were not present. In Commonwealth v. Pytak, 278 Pa.Super. 476, 420 A.2d 640 (1980), application of the seven factors led to an upholding of the warrantless entry. The crime was kidnapping and robbery; the suspect was reasonably believed to be armed; there was clear probable cause to arrest him; there was information from a reliable informant that the suspect was planning to leave one hour and fifteen minutes later; the magistrate could not be found after diligent attempt was made to find him; there was a non-forcible daylight entry. See also Commonwealth v. Fladger, 263 Pa.Super. 538, 398 A.2d 707 (1979), where, in a dissenting opinion, Judge SPAETH concluded that exigent circumstances did not exist where nothing indicated that the suspect, the superintendent of *224the apartment building where the crime (sodomy) took place against a tenant, was likely to escape.
Against the background of the above case law I cannot but conclude that the trial court was correct, and that its decision to suppress the evidence seized after the illegal entry into the apartment should be affirmed.