Parker v. State

Per Curiam. The appellant and a co-defendant, jointly indicted for possession and control of a narcotic drug, were jointly tried in the Criminal Court of Baltimore. The appellant was found guilty generally and given a sentence of 5 years. 1 The appellant’s sole contention on appeal from the judgment is that his warrantless arrest was illegal as made without probable cause and therefore evidence received against him was improperly admitted. There is no merit to the contention.

A police ⁴²⁴ officer assigned to the Narcotic Unit testified that he saw the appellant and the co-defendant walking on the street. The appellant removed a brown manila envelope from his right coat pocket and dropped it in an open trash container on the sidewalk. The officer recovered the brown envelope. In the envelope were 70 small clear gelatin capsules containing a white powder.

The appellant was arrested. Upon analysis by a United States Customs chemist the white powder was determined to be a narcotic drug, heroin hydrochloride. The legality of the arrest here is immaterial for two reasons. First, there was no objection made to the admission of the evidence now challenged.

By the provisions of Md. Rule, 522d2, made applicable to criminal causes by Md. Rule,