Summary
The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed Terrance Waters's convictions for weapons offenses and resisting arrest. The Court held that police had reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop Waters based on the totality of the circumstances, and that the issue was not plain error despite not being raised at trial.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the officers had reasonable and articulable suspicion, under the totality of the circumstances, to stop and detain Waters for investigative purposes.
- Whether the trial court committed plain error by failing to raise sua sponte the legality of the stop when Waters made no objection or motion at trial.
Holdings
- The officers had reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop Waters because the totality of the circumstances supported a reasonable belief that he was carrying a weapon or, at minimum, contraband.
- The trial court did not commit plain error by failing to raise sua sponte the issue of whether the stop was justified.
Key quotations
“Under the plain error standard of review, the error complained of must be so clearly prejudicial to substantial rights as to jeopardize the fairness and integrity of the trial process.” (at 4)
“reasonable suspicion must be evaluated in the context of the totality of the circumstances as viewed through the eyes of a reasonable, trained police officer in the same or similar circumstances, combining objective facts with such an officer’s subjective interpretation of those facts” (at 4)
Factual background
Wilmington police and a Delaware probation officer observed Waters riding a bicycle, turning into an alley, abandoning the bicycle, and walking away after noticing the officers. As the officers followed, Waters repeatedly made movements toward his waistband, turned his body away from them, accelerated when asked his name, and then ran. During the pursuit, he appeared to throw a metal object behind a parked vehicle; officers recovered a firearm, later determined to have an obliterated serial number, and arrested Waters.
Procedural history
After Wilmington police officers pursued and arrested Waters, he was charged with five weapons- and arrest-related offenses. Following a jury trial, he was convicted on all charges and sentenced to six years of incarceration followed by probation. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court judgment, holding that the officers had reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop Waters and that the trial court did not commit plain error by failing to raise the issue sua sponte.