People v. Freeman

Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of possession of cocaine. Police saw a single attempted transfer of a small unidentified object in a high crime area, where police scared one man off, and Defendant appeared to hide something. Although the observations gave police grounds for a Terry stop, they did not have probable cause to search for narcotics. As police lacked probable cause to search Defendant, court should have granted Defendant's motion to suppress evidence seized from him. Without that evidence, State lacks evidence needed to convict. (HYMAN and COGHLAN, concurring.)