Johnson v. State

ALPERT, Judge. Mark Tracy Johnson was convicted in a court trial in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County (Thieme, J., presiding) of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Johnson’s motion to suppress the evidence was heard and denied in the first stage of the trial. The trial then proceeded on a not guilty plea upon an agreed statement of facts.

We are asked to decide whether the trial court erred in denying appellant’s motion to suppress, based upon the police officer’s lack of reasonable articulable suspicion to effect the seizure. Detective Wayne Vernon, one of the arresting officers, was working as part of an arrest team in a buy-bust operation in Freetown Village, an “open air drug market.” Another detective, who was working undercover purchasing drugs in the area, radioed that he had just purchased crack cocaine from two black males. He described the two men and gave their location. Vernon and his partner drove to the given address and saw the two described individuals.

A third man, the appellant, was standing on the stairs with the two suspects. Vernon and his partner, who was wearing a gunbelt and badge, got out of their car. One of the suspects began to run. Vernon approached the second ⁵⁸¹ suspect and appellant, who began to run up the stairs.

Vernon yelled, “Halt, police,” and chased appellant. Appellant threw a baggie over the third floor landing and two smaller baggies fell to his feet. Appellant was then arrested. All of the baggies were recovered and found to contain crack cocaine with a street value of at least $2,400.00.

This case is controlled by the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in California v. Hodari, — U.S.-, 111 S.Ct. 1547 , 113 L.Ed.2d 690