#22-CM-0017, State of San Andreas v. Frank Raven

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Judith Mason
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Re: #22-CM-0017, State of San Andreas v. Frank Raven

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Form 3.0.5 - Issuance of Verdict


San Andreas Judicial Branch
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ISSUANCE OF VERDICT - 22-CM-0017


IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF SAN ANDREAS

State of San Andreas v. Frank Raven
22-CM-0017

CHARGES BEING DISPUTED:
GM05 - Receiving Stolen Property


A verdict was entered in the above case on the 9th day of June, 2022.

  • After extensive deliberations regarding the Motion to Suppress Evidence Seized during the Search of Mr. Raven on the 10th of May, the court has reached a decision.

    Based on the evidence provided thus far, parties have established that on the 10th of May, officers witnesses Mr. Raven standing beside a parked van on Vespucci Boulevard fiddling with something next to the front-passenger-side door. With the reasonable suspicion that he may be lockpicking the vehicle in an attempt to commit GF11 - Grand Theft Auto, officers approached Mr. Raven and detained him for the purposes of an investigation.

    The prosecution has asserted in the first hearing that probable cause to arrest Mr. Raven had been established due to Mr. Raven holding a knife next to a bank while allegedly masked. Prosecution further laid out that in the Los Santos Police Department’s press release ‘Knowing Your Rights & Due Process’ published in September 2020, “Probable cause is when officers suspect that a crime has been committed/will be committed/is being committed.”

    When it comes to Mr. Raven holding the knife, Sergeant Breacher stated during his conversation with Mr. Raven and other officers on scene, “We don’t need to be giving brandishing for a knife, especially if the knife is less than 3 inches or under, and it’s legal.” While holding a knife may be suspicious, it does not establish probable cause without other specific evidence to indicate a crime has occurred.

    When it comes to the mask, footage recorded from the Fleeca Bank CCTV camera revealed that Mr. Raven was at no point wearing a mask during this encounter, which directly contradicts Officer Papadakis’ recorded statement that Mr. Raven was concealing his face at the time of the incident.

    Finally when it comes to the specific charge that Mr. Raven was initially being investigated for, recorded footage has shown that officers had suspected Mr. Raven was lockpicking the van he was standing next to. The relevant charge here would have been GF11 - Grand Theft Auto, described as “Taking someone else’s vehicle without consent.”

    Prosecution has alleged that the plain view doctrine would apply here due to seeing the packed cash in Mr. Raven’s hands during the encounter, however, the evidence does not support this claim. The evidence shows that officers did not know what was in Mr. Raven’s hands until after the search had occurred.

    The court has found that reasonable suspicion had been established due to Mr. Raven’s movements next to the van, however, reasonable suspicion only authorizes law enforcement officers to detain individuals for further investigation. Further investigation, for the crime they suspected had been occuring, should have been to establish if Mr. Raven had been taking someone else’s vehicle without consent.

    This can take the form of a variety of investigative techniques, two of which did occur during the detainment - an inspection of the front-passenger-side door, presumably if there was any damage that would indicate lockpicking, and a lookup of the registered owner of the vehicle through the vehicle registration database using the license plate on that vehicle.

    Had this investigation taken place prior to the search of Mr. Raven’s person, he likely would have been released without being arrested, but Mr. Raven had been searched during a detainment. Officer Babatunda stated this approximately 5 times during the investigation that took place.

    I’d like to be clear that a simple detainment under reasonable suspicion does NOT allow for a warrantless search of a person, however, law enforcement officers, in this case, utilized reasonable suspicion alone to conduct the search of Mr. Raven.

    In conclusion, the court has found that the search of Mr. Raven had been done without establishing probable cause, and thus, I will be granting the Motion to Suppress that has been submitted by the defense, excluding all evidence that was seized as a result of that search.

    With the only piece of physical evidence now suppressed due to the unlawful search and seizure of Mr. Raven, a Motion for Summary Judgment was entered and immediately granted, ending the case at the second hearing.

    It is with the above considerations that I issue the following verdict:
    • On the count of GM05 - Receiving Stolen Property, I find the defendant, Frank Raven, not guilty.

    In accordance with policy set forth by the San Andreas Judicial Branch, the defendant will be compensated for the fines paid for the General Misdemeanor charge in the amount of $1,000 and will be compensated for time served in the amount of $2,000, coming to a total of $3,000.

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    Associate Justice
    San Andreas Judicial Branch
    (909) 257-9183 — [email protected]
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User avatar
Judith Mason
Judicial Branch
Posts: 2578
Joined: Fri May 21, 2021 3:11 am
ECRP Forum Name: Judge Judy

SAJB Awards

Re: #22-CM-0017, State of San Andreas v. Frank Raven

Post by Judith Mason »

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San Andreas Judicial Branch

Re: #22-CM-0017, State of San Andreas v. Frank Raven
"HERE FOR YOU | SAFE FOR YOU"

  • (( This situation and case has been voided by Legal Faction Management and Senior Staff+, please refrain from referencing this case in any future RP. ))

    Respectfully,

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    Associate Justice
    San Andreas Judicial Branch
    (909) 257-9183 — [email protected]
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