Commonwealth v. Toole

We are concerned with the lawfulness of a warrantless search of a truck tractor, commonly called a cab, which the defendant had been driving on Route 91 in Deerfield on September 21, 1981. A State trooper lawfully stopped the vehicle and arrested the defendant on an outstanding warrant for his arrest on a charge of assault and battery. The police ordered the defendant out of the cab and during a routine “pat-frisk” found an empty holster and an ammunition clip containing .45 caliber bullets. The defendant was handcuffed and, while he waited with two State troopers at the rear of the vehicle,…