SMETHPORT – Crack cocaine found in a van during a traffic stop
in February of 2006 can be admitted as evidence against a Bradford
couple, ruled Judge John Yoder, denying a motion to suppress
evidence in their criminal cases.
Attorneys for Brian and Reba Williams – Joe Marasco and Jay
Kahle, respectively – argued to have evidence from the van the two
were in on Feb. 4 suppressed, saying it was discovered during an
unlawful warrantless search.
“The first question is whether an unlawful stop of the vehicle
occurred,” wrote Judge John Yoder in his analysis of the motion.
“The second question is whether an unlawful warrantless search of
the vehicle occurred. If either the stop or search was unlawful,
then all resulting evidence of the search must be suppressed.”
Quoting from established case law, Yoder explains that courts
have held that police may stop a vehicle when there is reasonable
suspicion of criminal conduct. In the case with the Williams’
vehicle, Bradford City Police received a tip from a confidential
informant that the van would be traveling into Bradford, coming
back from Buffalo, N.Y., transporting about four ounces of crack
cocaine, according to court records.
Shortly thereafter, an officer with the McKean County Drug Task
Force contacted Bradford City Police and said he received a similar
tip from a reliable informant he had used in the past, the records
read.
The van was spotted at 7:40 p.m. with both Brian and Reba
Williams inside, as well as two black males, the records read.
Officers stopped the van, asked all occupants to step out and
frisked the occupants.
“Marijuana and cocaine fell out of the pants of one of the
occupants,” the records read.
Inside the van, there was a significant amount of debris and
there was a blanket hanging lengthwise, obstructing the officers’
view into the vehicle. An officer looked into the van to ensure no
one else was inside, shined a flashlight around the interior and
saw bags of crack cocaine sitting in plain view under the bench
seat, the records read. The bag was the same type and size as the
one that had just fallen from one of the suspect’s pants, the
records read.
The bag was left in place; the officer locked the van and it was
towed to a garage. A search warrant was obtained for the van and
the crack cocaine was seized, the records read.
Yoder said it was clear that the officers had grounds for
reasonable suspicion for stopping the van based on the following:
tips from two reliable informants; the van known to police entering
Bradford from the north; and the passengers being identified by
sight prior to the stop, according to the court records.
Regarding whether the officer viewing the drugs in the van was
an illegal search, Yoder referred to “The Winston Dictionary” to
define what the term “search” means.
“A search is: ‘the act or fact of seeking or looking for
something; inquiry; quest; pursuit,'” the records read.
“These facts indicate a search did not occur,” Yoder said. In a
footnote in his analysis, Yoder also explains the officers would
have been within their legal rights to seize the cocaine based on
the law’s “plain view doctrine,” but were “extra cautious” and
obtained a warrant before seizing the drugs.
Therefore, Yoder denied the motion to suppress the evidence in
both cases.
Brian Williams, 35, and Reba Williams, 46, are both charged with
possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled
substance and criminal conspiracy to possess a controlled substance
with the intent to deliver it. Brian Williams, who was driving the
van when it was stopped by police, was also charged with several
traffic summaries.
He is scheduled for a non-jury trial on March 5 before Yoder.
She is scheduled for a last day to plead Feb. 1 in front of
President Judge John Cleland.
