United States v. Valentine
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
232 F.3d 350 (2000)
- Written by Arlyn Katen, JD
Facts
An anonymous tipster flagged down officers patrolling a high crime area at 1:00 a.m. and told them that he had just seen a man with a gun. The tipster described the gunman and stated that a young man was with him. Near the same intersection, the officers found three men. One man, Larry Valentine (defendant) matched the tipster’s physical description of the gunman, and another was a young man. The three men started to walk away when the officers stopped and exited their patrol car. One officer ordered the young man to stop, and he obeyed. Valentine claimed that he initially stopped and gave police his name, but police seem to dispute this. When an officer ordered Valentine to put his hands on the police car, Valentine responded, “Who, me?” and charged toward the officer, pushing away the officer’s outstretched arms. As Valentine ran, the officer grabbed his shirt and wrestled him to the ground, and at some point, Valentine’s handgun fell to the ground. Valentine was prosecuted as a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court suppressed the gun.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Cowen, J.)
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