People v. Douglas
Annotate this CaseRichmond Detective Bailey and a partner were investigating “recent gun violence” when he spotted Douglas in a parked car. He had arrested Douglas in 2011 for a firearms-related offense. Bailey knew Douglas was on post-release community supervision probation (PRCS) because his job required him to regularly monitor who was on probation. Bailey decided to speak with and search Douglas, but did not immediately consult the Automated Regional Information Exchange System. In an apparent attempt to flee, Douglas moved his car forward as Bailey approached on foot. Bailey ordered Douglas to stop. When Douglas’s car stopped, Bailey ordered him out and pinned Douglas between the door and frame. A scuffle ensued. Bailey handcuffed Douglas. Bailey later testified that, as he was handcuffing Douglas, a loaded semiautomatic handgun fell from Douglas’s hand or arm. Rejecting a motion to suppress, the judge found that Bailey had sufficient evidence to make contact and, before a detention was accomplished, Douglas moved the vehicle and increased the probability to believe that he was in violation of his probation or of the law. Douglas entered a guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm and admitted a prior prison commitment and was sentenced to 16 months. The court of appeal affirmed. Bailey’s knowledge gave him an “objectively reasonable belief” Douglas was on PRCS.
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