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VA: A vengeful CI could not have predicted alleged drug courier's actions like this, so CI was corroborated

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The CI told the police that “Bobby” would be bringing drugs to a certain place. Bobby’s actions corroborated the CI. Smith v. Commonwealth, 2010 Va. App. LEXIS 316 (August 3, 2010)*: But a vengeful neighbor who meant to harass or annoy the appellant by making false or unfounded allegations could not possibly control the way “Bobby” would react to the arrival of the police. Under these circumstances, the male's reaction was more than extremely suspicious. Indeed, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, we hold that the officer's observations through the appellant's open door after receiving the anonymous tip amounted to probable cause that a drug offense was being committed. The officer’s inability to cite the specific statute that the defendant violated in his driving did not make the stop unconstitutional...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 06, 2010 (boomark / email).