Commonwealth v. Bakoian

On April 5, 1989, an Essex County grand jury indicted the defendant, Alfred D. Bakoian, on a charge of possession of heroin with intent to distribute. At a pretrial hearing, the defendant moved to suppress the heroin, asserting that the warrantless search of the vehicle in which he was a passenger and the consequent seizure of the heroin were illegal for lack of probable cause and exigent circumstances justifying the search. The motion judge ruled that the police had probable cause to believe that the vehicle contained contraband, but he concluded that no exigent circumstances existed which…