Com. v. Noel, M. ( 2015 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellant
v.
MALIK NOEL,
Appellee No. 1087 EDA 2014
Appeal from the Order Entered March 13, 2014
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0006259-2013
BEFORE: BOWES, DONOHUE, AND STABILE, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY BOWES, J.: FILED JUNE 17, 2015
The Commonwealth appeals from the order entered March 13, 2014,
granting Malik Noel’s motion to suppress. After careful review, we reverse.
The suppression court relayed the following facts.
On February 14, 2013, at 2:59 pm, in the 3000 block of
North 22nd Street, Police Sergeant William Schmid received three
separate radio calls regarding anonymous tips of a black male in
the area with a gun. The first radio call described a black male,
medium complexion, white thermal shirt, black coat, bushy hair,
and 30 years old, who arrived in a red and black Charger and
went into a barbershop. The second radio call described a black
male wearing a white jacket and blue jeans, who was armed,
and went into a barbershop. The third radio call described a
black male wearing a black jacket, white thermal top, blue jeans,
and black shoes, with a gun on his hip. All of the radio calls
were from anonymous sources.
Sergeant Schmid and his partner arrived on the 3000 block
of North 22nd Street one to two minutes after receiving the radio
call. They initially entered a women’s hair salon on the first floor
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of 3033 North 22nd Street. Sergeant Schmid inquired if anyone
in the hair salon had called regarding a person with a gun. A
female inside the salon said they had not called. The officers
were ready to walk back outside when the female asked if the
officers were aware that there is a barbershop upstairs. The
officers went back outside and opened the door next to the door
that opened the salon. The other door led to the second floor of
the same building where the salon was located.
The officers walked up the stairs to the second floor and
entered a barbershop on the second floor of 3033 North 22 nd
Street. The barbershop was a single, open room with two barber
chairs. Each chair was occupied by a customer whose hair was
being cut by a barber. As he stepped inside the barbershop,
Sergeant Schmid looked to see if anyone in the shop matched
the anonymous flash information. He also inquired if anyone had
called the police regarding a person with a gun. Nobody in the
barbershop responded.
Sergeant Schmid then observed Defendant, who was
seated facing away from the sergeant in a barber’s chair, with
his back to the sergeant, and wearing a barber’s cape.
Defendant was getting his haircut by one of the barbers.
Defendant’s arms were outside the barber’s cape, and Sergeant
Schmid observed that Defendant was wearing a white thermal
shirt.
When Sergeant Schmid made these observations, both of
Defendant’s arms were resting on the arm rest of the barber
chair. Sergeant Schmid also observed Defendant “take his left
hand and start to slide it down between himself and the arm of
the barber chair, starting to go under the black cape, that was
draped over.” As he closed the less than 10 feet to the chair,
Sergeant Schmid said to Defendant, “Let me see your hand.” He
then pinched the cape and tossed it off of Defendant. When he
pinched the cape, Defendant’s left hand was under the cape.
Sergeant Schmid explained that he removed the cape
because:
The male fit the description for the person with the gun,
there were multiple calls. He was the only one in the
location that fit the description and he was concealing his
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hand under the barber cape. I didn’t know what he was
going for or what he was doing with his hand. I didn’t
know if he was reaching for a weapon or trying to conceal
something, drugs or gun. I don’t know what he was doing.
Sergeant Schmid also testified that—when Defendant
moved his hand—he was not reaching or grabbing at any specific
pocket or area. Rather, Defendant simply moved his hand from
on top of the cape to underneath the cape and rested his hand
under the cape on the arm of the barber chair.
After the apron was thrown off, Defendant leaned forward
in the chair. As he leaned forward, Sergeant Schmid saw the
outline of a very large handgun protruding from Defendant’s
waistband. Sergeant Schmid recovered the gun and arrested
Defendant.
Suppression Court Opinion, 8/13/14, at 1-3 (emphasis in original) (internal
citations omitted).
The Commonwealth charged Appellee with person not to possess a
firearm, carrying an unlicensed firearm, carrying a firearm in public in
Philadelphia, and receiving stolen property. The non-firearms violation was
dismissed at a preliminary hearing. Thereafter, on March 13, 2014, Appellee
litigated a suppression motion “under Article One, Section Eight of the
Pennsylvania Constitution.” N.T., 3/13/14, at 5.1 Specifically, Appellee
argued that “police lacked reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk the
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1
Appellee did not file a written motion. However, the Commonwealth did
not object below, and since it raises the issue for the first time on appeal,
such a position is waived. See Pa.R.A.P. 302(a). Moreover, the
Commonwealth did not forward this contention in its Rule 1925(b) concise
statement of errors complained of on appeal.
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defendant[.]” Id. According to Appellee, the anonymous information
received by the police did not warrant the seizure and search. The
suppression court agreed, concluding:
The anonymous source has, in my view, no indicia of
[re]liability and although the defendant marginally fits part of
the flash, that was he was a black male, wearing a tan to beige
shirt with blue jeans, there’s insufficient information to
corroborate the anonymous tip. I’ll also regard—give
appropriate regards to the area of arrest, which was inside of the
barber shop, that this sergeant was not aware of—known for any
criminal activity. Although, certainly the area itself is a high-
crime area. This is like—unlike most of the cases, where there is
due regard for the area of arrest, which would be on the street
or corner or somewhere out in the public. This was actually
inside private property, in a second floor, in a private business.
I’ll also make a finding that there’s no movement by the
defendant to suggest that he had a weapon or was armed and
dangerous. The sergeant did not observe any bulge, any shape
of a weapon prior to the defendant being seized and there was
no failure to comply with any instruction or orders given by the
officer and no nervousness displayed by the defendant.
N.T., 3/13/14, at 63-64.
This appeal ensued. The Commonwealth’s sole contention on appeal
is:
Did the suppression court err by suppressing the gun that
experienced police officers recovered from defendant’s person in
a frisk where he invited reasonable suspicion by concealing his
hand under a barber’s cape as the officers approached him in a
violent, high-crime area in response to flash information
describing a gunman with his appearance?
Commonwealth’s brief at 1.
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This Court evaluates the grant of a suppression motion under well-
established principles. We consider the evidence of the defendant, as the
prevailing party below, and any evidence of the prosecution that is
uncontradicted when examined in the context of the suppression record.
Commonwealth v. Peterson, 17 A.3d 935, 937 (Pa.Super. 2012). This
Court is bound by the factual findings of the suppression court where the
record supports those findings and may only reverse when the legal
conclusions drawn from those facts are in error. Id. Importantly, we are
not bound by the legal conclusions of the suppression court. In re T.B., 11
A.3d 500, 505 (Pa.Super. 2010).
We begin by noting that in considering interaction between law
enforcement and other citizens, Pennsylvania courts look to whether the
subject interaction is a mere encounter, an investigatory detention, or a
custodial detention, i.e., an arrest. A mere encounter does not require
police to have any level of suspicion that the person is engaged in
wrongdoing. Commonwealth v. Downey, 39 A.3d 401, 405 (Pa.Super.
2012). At the same time, such an encounter does not carry any official
compulsion for the party to stop or respond. Id. An investigative detention,
however, subjects an individual to a stop and short period of detention. Id.This seizure does not involve actions that are so coercive as to comprise the
equivalent of an arrest. Id. To conduct an investigative detention, police
must have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Id.-5-
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“[T]his standard is met ‘if the police officer's reasonable and articulable
belief that criminal activity was afoot is linked with his observation of
suspicious or irregular behavior on behalf of the particular defendant
stopped.’” Commonwealth v. Kearney, 601 A.2d 346, 348 (Pa.Super.
1992) (citing Commonwealth v. Espada, 528 A.2d 968 (Pa.Super. 1987)).
It is well-settled that “[m]ere presence near a high crime area or in the
vicinity of a recently reported crime, is not enough to warrant a Terry[2]
stop.” Id. Nonetheless, it is also established that “even a combination of
innocent facts, when taken together, may warrant further investigation[.]”
Commonwealth v. Kemp, 961 A.2d 1247, 1255 (Pa.Super. 2008) (en
banc)); see also Commonwealth v. Cook, 735 A.2d 673, 676 (Pa. 1999).
As this Court cogently stated in Commonwealth v. Riley, 715 A.2d 1131,
1135 (Pa.Super. 1998), “Merely because a suspect's activity may be
consistent with innocent behavior does not alone make detention and limited
investigation illegal. . . . Rather, we view the circumstances through the
eyes of a trained officer, not an ordinary citizen.”
We consider what level of interaction occurred under a totality of the
circumstances test. Commonwealth v. Williams, 73 A.3d 609, 615-616
(Pa.Super. 2013). This standard is an objective one and looks to the
reasonable belief of the citizen and not the subjective view of law
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2
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).
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enforcement. Commonwealth v. Lyles, 54 A.3d 76, 83 (Pa.Super. 2012).
“In evaluating the circumstances, the focus is directed toward whether, by
means of physical force or show of authority, the citizen-subject's movement
has in some way been restrained.” Id. at 79-80. Accordingly, we look to
whether “in view of all surrounding circumstances, a reasonable person
would have believed that he was free to leave.” Id. at 79.
The Commonwealth maintains that the suppression court “disregarded
the totality of the circumstances.” Commonwealth’s brief at 7. It asserts
that “an eleven-year veteran police sergeant responsible for hundreds of gun
arrests in the violent, high crime neighborhood in this case testified that
[Appellant] fit the physical description and wore the clothing described in a
police radio call of a ‘man with a gun.’” Id. In addition, the Commonwealth
notes that Appellant moved his hand under the barber’s cape after police
entered the room and asked if anyone had called about a person with a gun.
The Commonwealth continues that the suppression court did not
properly consider that this case involved three separate anonymous phone
calls describing a black male with a gun entering a barbershop. Two of
those calls identified the person as wearing a light colored thermal shirt.
The Commonwealth, in a post-submission communication filed with
permission from this Court, relies on three separate cases to argue that the
anonymous calls, in conjunction with the remaining circumstances, support
the warrantless seizure and search.
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Specifically, the Commonwealth points to Commonwealth v.
Ranson, 103 A.3d 73 (Pa.Super. 2014),3 Navarette v. California, 134
S.Ct. 1683 (2014), and In the Interest of D.M., 781 A.2d 1161 (Pa.
2001). In Ranson, a Pittsburgh police detective with eighteen years of
experience was working as part of an approved off-duty detail at an after
hours club. The club was located in a high crime area and the officer had
worked security at the business for four years. As the club was closing, at
approximately 3:30 a.m., a patron approached the detective and pointed out
an individual whom the informant claimed had a gun. The detective did not
know the informant’s name, but maintained that he saw the person every
weekend at the club.
The detective and two other police officers working security
approached the identified person, Ranson. As the officers, who were in
uniform, came near, Ranson put his hands in his hooded sweatshirt and
began to walk away. The police ordered him to stop, but he continued to
walk away. The original detective pulled out his firearm and held it at his
side and continued to instruct the defendant to stop. After walking
approximately fifty feet, the defendant turned around. The police told the
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3
The Commonwealth incorrectly refers to the case as Commonwealth v.
Ransom and failed to provide the citation to the case. However, it is
evident from the Commonwealth’s recitation of the facts of that case, that it
is discussing the case we reference.
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defendant to remove his hands from his sweatshirt. The defendant
complied, at which point police could see the outline of a gun. Police
discovered a handgun in the front pocket of Ranson’s sweatshirt.
This Court upheld the stop and search. First, the panel noted the
distinction between the typical anonymous tip where police have no
information as to whom the tipster is and the situation presented therein.
Since the tip was given in person, we concluded it had more indicia of
reliability than the traditional anonymous tip. We added that the stop
occurred in a high crime area and that Ranson had walked away after seeing
police approach him.
Naverette, in contrast, involved a motor vehicle stop. There, police
received an anonymous 911 call identifying a silver Ford pickup truck with a
specific license plate as having run the caller off the road five minutes
earlier. Approximately thirteen minutes later, police observed the truck in
question. Police followed the vehicle for five minutes. Although the police
did not observe any driving infractions, they elected to stop the car.
Ultimately, the police discovered thirty pounds of marijuana in the vehicle.
The United States Supreme Court, in a five-to-four decision, upheld the stop.
The majority ruled that the 911 call was sufficiently reliable and provided
reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop.
In D.M., the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a four-to-three decision
upheld a search after police received an anonymous tip describing a man
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with a gun at a precise location. Police responded to the location, where
they saw and identified D.M, who matched the description provided to police.
Upon seeing police, D.M. fled. Originally, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
ruled the stop illegal under the Fourth Amendment and the Pennsylvania
Constitution. The United States Supreme Court vacated that decision. The
D.M. Court, upon remand, ruled that the anonymous tip, coupled with flight,
warranted the stop.
Appellee counters that police lacked specific and articulable facts
necessary to reasonably conclude he was armed. He contends that he was
lawfully sitting in a barber chair during the day time, getting a haircut, and
that he only marginally matched the descriptions given by the anonymous
callers. Appellee adds that the suppression court did not find his hand
movement to be furtive as he merely placed his hand underneath the barber
cape and there was no indication that he was reaching for anything.
Appellee continues that the officer here only had a hunch that
Appellant was the individual identified by the anonymous calls. He asserts
that “the mere fact that a person fits a vague description given by an
anonymous source does not constitute sufficient basis for a Terry search
because tips are unreliable and therefore are treated with suspicion.”
Appellee’s brief at 12. In support, Appellant relies principally on
Commonwealth v. Wiley, 858 A.2d 1191 (Pa.Super. 2004).
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In Wiley, at noon, a person saw Wiley inside a restaurant with a gun
in his waistband. The concerned citizen followed the defendant and saw him
enter a barbershop. The tipster called 911 and described the defendant as a
five-foot-seven-inch black male, approximately twenty-five years of age. He
indicated that he saw the defendant in the restaurant with a gun and
observed him walk into a barbershop. He provided the address of the
barbershop. The tipster remained at the scene until police arrived and, after
Wiley was arrested, told police that he had called. The police responded to
the barbershop within one and one-half minutes of the call. An officer who
was familiar with the barbershop entered the business with his gun drawn
and directed Wiley to raise his hands. Police recovered a loaded .22 caliber
revolver.
A panel of this Court ruled that the police action therein was unlawful.
Since police did not learn of the caller’s identity until after Wiley was
arrested, we viewed the tip as anonymous. The Wiley Court reasoned that
the single anonymous tip alone was insufficient to justify the seizure. The
Court held that the mere corroboration of Wiley’s features with the
information from the call did not create reasonable suspicion.
Preliminarily, we find that none of the cases relied on by the
Commonwealth are particularly apt, nor are they controlling. Ranson
involved an in-person identification. Naverrette relates to a motor vehicle
stop and in D.M., the suspect attempted to flee. Nonetheless, we disagree
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with Appellee that Wiley compels affirmance. Unlike Wiley, this case
involves multiple tips and the officer did not enter the barbershop with his
weapon drawn. Further, Appellee moved his hand to where police could not
see it when they asked if anyone had called to report a person with a gun.
Thus, we are faced with a novel factual scenario.
As Appellee litigated his motion solely under Pennsylvania
constitutional principles, we focus on Article I, § 8. That provision provides,
The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and
possessions from unreasonable searches and seizures, and no
warrant to search any place or to seize any person or things
shall issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor
without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation
subscribed by the affiant.
Pa.Const., Article I, § 8. “[I]n several contexts, the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court has interpreted Article I, § 8 to afford broader protections than
interpretations of the Fourth Amendment by the United States Supreme
Court.” Commonwealth v. Haynes, 2015 PA Super 94, *5 (collecting
cases). “However, in other situations, our High Court has declined to
interpret Article I, § 8 as providing greater protections than the United
States Supreme Court’s Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.” Id. at *6. The
law governing Terry stops, i.e., stops and searches based on reasonable
suspicion, is the same under both the federal and Pennsylvania charters.
See Wiley, supra; see also Lyles, supra at 302.
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Both the U.S. Supreme Court and Pennsylvania Supreme Court have
opined that the hallmark of any search or seizure is reasonableness.
Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U. S. 398, 403 (2006); Commonwealth v.
Lagenella, 83 A.3d 94, 102 (Pa. 2013) (“The Fourth Amendment to the
United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania
Constitution, protect individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures.”).
Accordingly, warrantless intrusions are generally considered unreasonable.
Haynes, supra at *3; Commonwealth v. Davido, 106 A.3d 611, 622 (Pa.
2014) (“Warrantless entries or searches are per se unreasonable under our
federal and state Constitutions, albeit subject to certain delineated
exceptions.”).
Indeed, “[f]raming-era law enforcement could only justify felony
warrantless arrests if a felony in fact had been committed, and such an
arrest was ordinarily required to be based on exceptional circumstances.”
Haynes, supra at *9. Hence, where a person was seen to have committed
a felony by the officer or citizen, he could be stopped and arrested. Id.
(citing Wakely v. Hart, 6 Binn. 316 (Pa. 1814)). In addition, “although not
seen, yet if known to have committed a felony, and pursued with or without
warrant, he may be arrested by any person.” Wakely, supra at 318
(emphasis in original); see also Haynes, supra at *9 (citing William Waller
Hening, The New Virginia Justice, 51 (Richmond, 2nd ed. 1810), stating, “a
constable hath no power to arrest a man for an affray done out of his own
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view, without a warrant from a justice, unless a felony were done, or likely
to be done”).
“Since the constitutional prohibitions against general warrants was
because such warrants provided discretionary authority to constables,
customs officers, and other peace officers, ‘it is wholly implausible that the
Framers would have approved of broad use of warrantless intrusions,
because such intrusions would necessarily have rested solely on the officers’
own judgment.’” Haynes, supra at *10. Pointedly, law enforcement could
not enter a private home or business to conduct a search of a person or the
place without a warrant unless the official believed that violence was
occurring inside or he was in fresh pursuit of a person he observed commit a
felony or affray. Id at *11. As this Court stated in Haynes, “at the time of
Pennsylvania’s early constitutions, it was generally recognized by the people
that an unreasonable search and seizure occurred unless a specific warrant
authorized the search or seizure.” Id. Thus, Terry seizures based on
reasonable suspicion of criminal activity find little to no support in the text or
early history of the Pennsylvania Constitution’s prohibition against
unreasonable searches and seizures. See generally Haynes, supra
(discussing historical underpinnings of warrantless search and seizure law).
However, the cases from both the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and
this Court upholding Terry searches are too legion to cite. As outlined
previously, police must have reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is
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afoot, which is evaluated by the courts based on the totality of the
circumstances. Our state Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court have
addressed reasonable suspicion in the context of a single anonymous tip.
Commonwealth v. Hawkins, 692 A.2d 1068 (Pa. 1997) (OAJC),
Commonwealth v. Kue, 692 A.2d 1076 (Pa. 1997) (OAJC), and
Commonwealth v. Jackson, 698 A.2d 571 (Pa. 1997), Florida v. J.L.,
529 U.S. 266 (2000). The plurality decisions in Hawkins and Kue were
decided on the same date with the votes of the justices involved being
identical.
In Hawkins, Philadelphia police received information from an
anonymous source that a black male wearing a blue hat, black jeans, and a
gold or brownish coat was at Sydenham and York Streets with a gun.4 Police
arrived within three minutes to that precise location and observed Hawkins.
Hawkins matched the description given. Accordingly, the officer stopped and
frisked Hawkins, “finding a .22 caliber revolver in his waistband.” Hawkins,
supra at 1069. The Hawkins plurality5 ruled the stop illegal. The plurality
opined that when police “respond to an anonymous call that a particular
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4
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision does not reference the time of
day that the stop occurred. However, this Court’s unpublished
memorandum set forth that the stop occurred at approximately 8:40 p.m.
5
Chief Justice Flaherty authored the lead opinion and was joined by Justices
Cappy and Zappala. Justice Nigro concurred in result and Justice Newman
authored a dissenting opinion joined by Justice Castille.
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person at a specified location is engaged in criminal activity, and upon
arriving at the location see a person matching the description but nothing
more, they have no certain knowledge except that the caller accurately
described someone at a particular location.” Id. at 1070. The Hawkins
Court also found that the officer “had no independent reason to believe that
the suspect may have been involved in criminal activity.” Id. at 1071.
Similarly, in Kue, police received an anonymous tip at 2:30 a.m. that
“an Asian male was ‘armed with a gun’ at the intersection of Second and
Olney Streets in Philadelphia.” Kue, supra at 1077. The tip described the
individual as wearing a striped shirt. The responding officer arrived at the
scene within three minutes and saw four Asian men, one of whom was
wearing a striped shirt. Kue, the defendant, was not the individual in the
striped shirt. The officer witnessed the men speak quickly to each other and
look in different directions. He then stopped and frisked each man. The
search of Kue revealed a .25 caliber firearm in his waistband.
Utilizing the same rationale as the Hawkins plurality, the Kue
plurality ruled that the stop and frisk was illegal. Specifically, it held that “in
order for police to act on an anonymous tip, the Terry requirement of
reasonable suspicion of criminal activity must still be satisfied and must be
independent of the telephone tip itself.” Id. at 1078. Since “there was no
independent reason to believe that criminal conduct was afoot,” the officer
“had no reason to search anyone[.]” Id.
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While the Hawkins and Kue decisions were pluralities, the High Court
reached a majority consensus in Jackson, supra. Therein, “[a]t
approximately 10:23 p.m., a Philadelphia police officer received a police
radio report of a man in a green jacket carrying a gun. Other than the
location, no additional details were provided.” Jackson, supra at 572.
Within two minutes of receiving the call, police arrived at the corner of
Snyder and Seventh Street where the person was alleged to be located. The
defendant was the only individual in a green jacket. There was no evidence
that he acted suspiciously. However, the officer stopped the defendant and
searched him. While the defendant was being searched, a small key box fell
next to him, which contained fourteen packets of cocaine.
The majority ruled that the case was factually indistinguishable from
Hawkins. It reasoned that the fact that the police were able to corroborate
the location of the suspect and his wearing of a green jacket was insufficient
to warrant a Terry stop. The Jackson Court rejected the Commonwealth’s
argument “that the degree of danger to the police and the public from armed
criminals is so great that if an anonymous caller provides a physical
description of the individual, an accurate location and an allegation that the
individual is armed, a Terry stop is justified.” Id. at 575. Instead, it ruled,
“[t]he danger to the police and public from firearms was already factored
into the balance when the requirement of reasonable suspicion was
articulated in Terry.” Id.
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Consistent with our High Court’s expression in Jackson, the United
States Supreme Court in J.L. ruled that an anonymous tip that a person is
carrying a gun is, without additional evidence, insufficient to uphold a police
officer’s stop and frisk. In J.L., police received an anonymous tip that “a
young black male standing at a particular bus stop and wearing a plaid shirt
was carrying a gun.” J.L., supra at 1377. Two officers responded and
observed three black males in the area. J.L, a juvenile, was wearing a plaid
shirt. “Apart from the tip, the officers had no reason to suspect any of the
three of illegal conduct. The officers did not see a firearm, and J.L. made no
threatening or otherwise unusual movements.” Id. Despite not observing
any suspicious behavior, one officer directed J.L. to place his hands up,
frisked him, and found a gun. The Supreme Court rejected creating a
firearm exception to Terry, and ruled that the stop and search violated the
Fourth Amendment.
In the present case, police received three separate anonymous tips, all
of which identified a black male with a gun entering a barbershop. Two of
the tipsters identified the individual as wearing a white thermal shirt. Officer
Schmid, with eleven years experience, including six in the district in
question, observed Appellee in the barbershop and described him as
matching the description given. It is undisputed that Appellee was wearing
a white thermal shirt. The barbershop is located in a high crime
neighborhood. After Officer Schmid asked if anyone had called about a
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person with a gun, Appellee moved his hand under the barber’s cape
concealing it from the Officer Schmid’s view. The officer asked Appellee to
show his hands, and lifted the barber’s cape. Appellee leaned forward to
stand up, revealing the weapon. Although Appellee’s hand movement was
not illegal, even activity consistent with innocent behavior may be
considered as giving rise to reasonable suspicion. Thus, this case is
distinguishable from those cases that suppressed evidence seized as a result
of receiving one anonymous tip without additional indicia of criminal activity.
We add that we do not find that the number of anonymous tips
received provides a greater indicia of reliability than a single tip. The tips
remained anonymous, and one person may in fact provide multiple tips. The
number of tips is simply not dispositive nor is it enough that police
corroborate that a person matches the description of an anonymous tipster
or tipsters. Rather, police must be able to articulate specific facts giving rise
to a reasonable belief that the person matching the description by the
tipsters is engaged in criminal activity. We hold that under the totality of
these circumstances, police did have reasonable suspicion to detain
Appellee. Accordingly, we find that the suppression court erred.
Order reversed. Case remanded. Jurisdiction relinquished.
Judge Stabile joined the memorandum.
Judge Donohue filed a dissenting memorandum.
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Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 6/17/2015
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