People v. Smith

Memorandum. Order of the Appellate Division reversed, the motion to suppress granted, and the indictment dismissed. Connection with a rented automobile alone did not give the police sufficient cause to stop defendant. The use of the flashlight in the circumstances of this case which resulted in the discovery of the firearm and the drugs was an unwarranted intrusion into the interior of the vehicle. There was no basis for suspicion other than defendant’s prior presence in a rented car and his walking about the block. At best this gave the police by way of subjective "hunch” "cause” to…