State v. Napoleao Pires

Syllabus

The defendant, Napoleao Pires, appealed from a judgment of conviction for one count of carrying a firearm without a license and one count of possession of a controlled substance he appealed on the grounds that the trial justice improperly denied his motion to suppress the evidence seized from his person the night of his arrest. The defendant argued that the evidence was obtained as the result of an unconstitutional search and seizure, and therefore it should have been suppressed. On appeal, the defendant asked the Supreme Court to review the trial justice's decision on the motion to suppress. Reviewing the trial justice's decision de novo, the Supreme Court considered whether reasonable suspicion existed at the inception of the defendant's encounter with the police. Ultimately, the Court determined that the state had failed to meet its burden to prove that the officers involved had reasonable suspicion of the defendant's involvement in criminal activity when the seizure occurred, and thus the Court concluded that the search and seizure of the defendant without a warrant was unconstitutional. Because the stop violated the defendant's constitutional rights under the United States and Rhode Island Constitutions, the Court held that the trial justice should have granted the defendant's motion to suppress. Accordingly, the Supreme Court reversed the decision on the motion to suppress and vacated the judgment of conviction.