Summary
In this Massachusetts Superior Court decision, the court granted Joshua Alvarez's motions to suppress a knife and statements arising from an alleged carjacking and armed robbery investigation. The court concluded that police lacked probable cause to arrest and search Alvarez based on a general description and his location, and therefore suppressed the knife and statements as fruits of an unlawful arrest. The court also found that Alvarez invoked his right to counsel during booking and that the invocation was not honored.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the troopers had probable cause to arrest Alvarez when they immediately handcuffed and arrested him based on a general description, his location, and the fact that he turned when an officer called “Josh.”
- Whether the knife recovered during the search incident to arrest had to be suppressed because the arrest lacked probable cause.
- Whether statements Alvarez made while under arrest had to be suppressed as fruits of an unlawful arrest.
- Whether Alvarez unambiguously invoked his right to counsel by asking, “When is the fastest I can get the lawyer?” and, later, “Can I talk to someone first?”
Holdings
- The troopers lacked probable cause to arrest Alvarez. The facts established, at most, reasonable suspicion for an investigatory stop, but the troopers arrested him immediately without conducting such a stop.
- The folding knife recovered from Alvarez's person must be suppressed because the arrest was made without probable cause and the search was conducted incident to that unlawful arrest.
- Alvarez's statements made while under the unlawful arrest must be suppressed as fruits of the poisonous tree.
- Alvarez unambiguously invoked his right to counsel when he asked, “When is the fastest I can get the lawyer?” His later request, “Can I talk to someone first?”, also invoked counsel, and the Commonwealth conceded that the latter invocation was not honored.
Key quotations
“An arrest requires probable cause. The police had at most reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop of Alvarez but declined to do so.” (7)
“I find that Alvarez made a statement that expressed his desire for the assistance of counsel when he asked, "When is the fastest I can get the lawyer?"” (8)
Factual background
Police received a BOLO concerning an armed carjacking by two Black males in black clothing and later received information from a juvenile identifying another participant as “Josh A,” a Black male wearing black clothing and white Crocs who had been dropped off at a Brighton McDonald's. About two hours after the BOLO, troopers found Alvarez, who generally matched that description, at the McDonald's, immediately handcuffed and arrested him, and searched him without first conducting an investigatory stop. The troopers found a folding knife, and Alvarez made statements after receiving Miranda warnings; later, at the station, he asked when he could get a lawyer and subsequently invoked his right to counsel by asking, “Can I talk to someone first?”
Procedural history
After a suppression hearing, the Superior Court found that police immediately handcuffed, arrested, and searched Alvarez without first conducting an investigatory stop. The court concluded that the police lacked probable cause for the arrest and allowed the motions to suppress the knife and the defendant's statements.