STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. DION E. ROBINSON
A-5600-12T3
The court reverses an order denying defendant's motion to suppress the handgun seized in a "protective sweep" of his car.
Following a routine late-night traffic stop on the Garden State Parkway,
police dispatch advised the patrol officer that defendant driver and
one of his three passengers had open warrants and were known to carry
weapons. Deciding to proceed "tactically," five officers approached with
guns drawn and ordered all occupants out of the car. The two men with
warrants were arrested and placed in patrol cars. Neither of the two
remaining passengers possessed a driver's license. Because there are no
facts in the record to support a reasonable suspicion on the part of the
officer that the unlicensed drivers were dangerous and could return to
the car to obtain immediate access to a weapon, the court deems the
search unreasonable.
Judge Nugent dissents, concluding the totality of circumstances
justified both the officer's belief that a gun was in the car and his
protective sweep for the safety of the officers on the scene as well as
the public under the community caretaking doctrine.
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