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IL: Bullet in plain view in car not PC to believe a gun is illegally possessed

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The Terry stop of defendant’s car was lawful, but seeing a bullet in plain view did not create probable cause to believe that there was a gun in the car [there was] without a carry permit or in possession of a felon. People v. Colyar, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 1423 (December 30, 2010): Here, we agree with the circuit court that more was required to justify the search of the defendant’s vehicle after the officers observed a bullet in plain-view, which precipitated the officers’ action. Upon observing the bullet, the officers immediately removed the occupants from the vehicle, secured each in front of the Honda by handcuffing them, and placed each in custody without determining whether the bullet observed by the officers was in fact evidence of a crime...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 11, 2011 (boomark / email).