Commonwealth v. Johnson
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
86 A.3d 182 (2014)
- Written by Paul Neel, JD
Facts
Officer James Knott responded to a report of a car that had been involved in a drug deal. Knott observed that the car had a broken taillight and stopped the car. Richard Johnson (defendant) was a passenger in the car. Knott ran Johnson’s identification and found that Johnson had an active warrant for his arrest. Knott arrested and searched Johnson incident to the arrest and found 37 packets of heroin, two cell phones, and $1,674 in cash. During questioning, Johnson admitted that he was a drug dealer and had sold drugs to the car’s driver. Later, Johnson claimed that he used but did not deal drugs and the cash he carried was a tax refund. Knott learned that the arrest warrant had been executed nine days earlier, was invalid, and should have been recalled. Nevertheless, the state (plaintiff) charged Johnson. Johnson moved to suppress the evidence and admissions. The trial court granted the motion. The state appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Castille, C.J.)
Dissent (McCaffery, J.)
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