Edwards v. Warden of Maryland Penitentiary

Per Curiam. This is the third application of Richard Edwards, Jr., for leave to appeal from an order denying him post conviction relief. The applicant, who was charged in the Criminal Court of Baltimore with armed robberies in six indictments, pled guilty to four of the charges, was found guilty of one, and the State stetted the sixth. The first application was denied in Edwards v. Warden, 221 Md. 575 .

On the second application, in which it was contended for the first time that a gun found in his automobile was seized as a result of an illegal search, leave to appeal was granted and the application was remanded in Edwards v. Warden, 232 Md. 667 , for the purpose of determining the legality of the seizure. ⁶⁴⁷ On remand, the findings of fact made by the hearing judge disclose that the applicant, who failed to yield the right of way to a police car at an intersection, was stopped by police who were patrolling the area in search of suspects in connection with a series of armed robberies in the neighborhood; that while the police were questioning the applicant, they saw a gun fall from the automobile the applicant had been operating; and that the applicant was then placed under arrest and the gun was seized. On these facts, the hearing judge found that