Commonwealth v DePeiza- 449 Mass. 367
Facts:
On April 27th, 2005, DePeiza was walking through Dorchester. Officer John Conway and Dean Binkerton were on patrol in this neighborhood, which was known to be a high-crime area involving firearms. DePeiza attracted the officers' attention due to the odd way he was walking (DePeiza had his telephone to his left ear with his left hand and had his right arm straight, pressed against his right side). Based on their training, the officers learned that DePeiza's "straight arm" was a sign that he was carrying a firearm by pressing it against his body. The officers, who were driving in the opposite direction proceeded to reverse their direction and without activating their lights or sirens they approached DePeiza. During the interaction between DePeiza and the officers, DePeiza continually shielded his right side from the view of the officers. At a point in the conversation, the officers stepped out of the car and noticed that DePeiza was displaying signs of nervousness and was likely that he would run. Without being asked, DePeiza presented his student identification and driver's license. The officers noted that the DePeiza reached into his right rear pants pocket while turning away from them in an awkward position and that his jacket pocket appeared to obtain a heavy object. Binkerton performed a pat frisk and …show more content…
The defendant moved to suppress the drugs based on the fact that the drugs were obtained as a result of an unlawful search and in violation of the 4th and 14th amendment. The judge allowed the motion and concluded that Desmarais's actions of "lifting back the defendant's waistband visually to inspect the defendant's buttocks area and later to retrieve the drugs amounted to strip searches that he concluded were unreasonably conducted." (Morales v Commonwealth. 464, Mass. 334. 2012. Print).