00-3174 U.S. v. Mitchell

Listen to this article

“The officers, upon their arrival at the scene, clearly did not have sufficient information to immediately arrest Mitchell for being a felon in possession. However, we are of the opinion that the combination of a report of shots being fired, the rapid response time of the officers (approximately 90 seconds), the fact that Mitchell matched the general (albeit limited) description of the suspect, the fact that Mitchell and Bennett were known to the officers as gang members and dangerous men, the fact that both men had a propensity to carry weapons, that they were the only adult black males that could be seen on the 1700 block of Bigelow, that the 1700 block of Bigelow was a known ‘hot-spot’ for criminal activity, and that they both denied hearing shots fired, gave both officers a ‘perfectly reasonable apprehension of danger.’ Accordingly, under the totality of the circumstances we hold that the two officers had a sufficient legal basis to conduct an investigation, including a Terry stop.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, McDade, J., Coffey, J.