Commonwealth v. Wichael

By Judge Victor V. Ludwig

I am writing to inform the parties of the Court’s decision concerning Mr. Wichael’s motion to suppress evidence, argued on November 23,2011. For the reasons recited in this letter, I grant the motion.

Facts

On September 3, 2011, Corporal Michael Roane heard a radio call from Lieutenant James Mader, who had stopped a red sport utility vehicle on Augusta Farms Road in Augusta County, Virginia, for failing to use a turn signal. Lt. Mader gave the location of the stop and the license plate of the vehicle. Cpl. Roane thought he recognized the license plate, so he ran the tag…