Court Opinion

ID: 9649889
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 15:12:44.91733+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:15.774209
License: Public Domain

Dissenting Opinion by
Mr. Justice Pomeroy:
I have serious question as to the soundness of the conclusion reached by the Court that Richards’ arrest was illegal for want of probable cause. See Commonwealth v. Gilmore, 447 Pa. 21, 288 A.2d 757 (1972); Commonwealth v. Bosurgi, 411 Pa. 56, 68-69, 190 A.2d 304 (1963).1 Accepting, however, that such cause was lacking, Richards’ inculpatory statements, voluntarily made following Miranda warnings and a waiver of *470his Miranda rights, should not, in my view, be excluded from evidence unless the police made the arrest “without fair basis for the belief that such cause existed.” American Law Institute, Model Code of PreArraignment Procedure, §150.2(2) (Tent. Draft No. 6, 1974); see Betrand Appeal, 451 Pa. 381, 392, 303 A.2d 486, 492 (1973) (concurring opinion of this writer). Under the facts of the case at bar, I cannot conclude that the police acted without a fair basis for their belief that they had reasonable cause for arrest. I therefore dissent.

 In the ease at bar, the victim had ample opportunity to observe her assailant, and gave a detailed description of him to the police. Moreover, as the Commonwealth points out in its brief, “[a]n additional factor in determining probable cause in the instant case is the fact that the accused was discovered living in the neighborhood where the crime took place. While this would not be a significant factor in a well-planned burglary or a crime of a ‘professional’ nature, it is of obvious significance in a sex offense crime. The investigating officers . . . recognized this significance when they centered their investigation on persons living in the immediate vicinity of the crime.” Brief for Appellee at 15-16. I think this point is well-taken, and accordingly attach little significance to the fact that the arrest was not made until three days after the assault on Ms. Nase was reported.