United States v. Lowe, No. 14-1108 (3d Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CasePhiladelphia officers received an anonymous call reporting “a black male wearing a gray hoodie with a gun in his waistband talking to a female. . . 914 North Markoe Street outside,” in a “high crime area.” The officers had earlier received a call regarding an alleged gunshot “around the corner” from that address. The officers parked their police cars 50-60 feet from the house and moved towards Lowe. Lowe was speaking with Witherspoon in front of her house. Lowe was wearing a gray hoodie; his hands were in the pockets. The officers did not see a gun or any indication that Lowe had a gun, nor did they observe any disturbance. The parties dispute the events that led to the officers frisking Lowe and finding a gun. Lowe entered a conditional guilty plea to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), and appealed denial of his suppression motion. On remand, neither party supplemented the record. The district court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law and again denied Lowe’s motion. The Third Circuit reversed, finding that police did not have reasonable suspicion to conduct a Terry stop when they seized Lowe and that the court erred in identifying the moment of seizure.
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