The waiver of an illegal warrantless arrest does not carry the admissibility of evidence seized during the illegal warrantlessarrest.
When there is an irregularity in the arrest of an accused, the accused must object to the validity of his arrest before arraignment. Otherwise, the objection is deemed waived.[60] Here, Marvin may no longer raise the issue regarding the validity of his arrest, especially after participating in the proceedings before the trial court. Nonetheless, this does not preclude Court from ruling against the admissibility of the evidence obtained from the illegal warrantless arrest.[61]
As such, the OR and CR allegedly found in the bag of Marvin after he was arrested for illegal possession of firearms are inadmissible. The Court cannot consider the documents supposedly seized from Marvin's possession as part of the circumstantial evidence for the prosecution.
Neither was the search of Marvin's body and belongings valid as a stop-and-frisk search.
One of the arresting officers, SPO4 Pequiras, further muddled his testimony when he stated that the search on Marvin and his bag was due to the "information [they received] that a certain person was seen with a suspicious thing tucked [in] his waist."[62] Verily, the factual circumstances were ambiguous as to whether the arrest preceded the search, or if Marvin was stopped and frisked pursuant to the anonymous report the police received regarding a suspicious person. Regardless, the warrantless search is still unjustifiable as a stop-and-frisk search.
A stop-and-frisk search is defined as "the act of a police officer to stop a citizen on the street, interrogate him, and pat him for weapon(s) or contraband."[63] Searches under stop-and-frisk are limited to the protective search of outer clothing for weapons.[64] For purposes of searching a person's clothing for concealed weapons, the police officer is required to introduce himself properly, make initial inquiries, approach and then restrain the person manifesting unusual and suspicious conduct.[65]
In order to be considered valid, a stop and frisk search must be premised on the manifest overt acts of an accused, which give law enforcers a "genuine reason" to conduct the search. Jurisprudence has refined the standard to less than probable cause, but more than mere suspicion. The search cannot be based on a suspicion or a hunch.[66] Their suspicion is formed on the basis of the law enforcers' prior experience with criminals and their behavior, as well as the surrounding circumstances of the case.[67]
In some cases, the Court has also required the presence of more than one activity which, when taken together, gives a reasonable inference of criminal activity.[68] This is determined on a case-to-case basis, as when a man with reddish eyes, walking in a swaying manner, avoided the police officers approaching him,[69] or when a person was seen placing a heat-sealed plastic sachet containing a white substance inside a cigarette case.[70] For this particular case, however, the Court cannot discern any circumstance that would give SPO4 Pequiras a genuine reason to stop-and-frisk Marvin.
The prosecution stated that Marvin was arrested and searched because the police received a report regarding a suspicious person with something tucked in his waist. But in his testimony, SPO4 Pequiras did not specify the actions or behavior of Marvin, or the factual circumstances occurring prior to his arrest and search. He simply stated that Marvin was arrested due to the anonymous tip. SPO4 Pequiras did not even state how they were able to identify Marvin as the suspicious person referred to in the concerned citizen's report. Evidently, these are not enough to create a reasonable inference of criminal activity.
From the foregoing, the Court finds that Marvin was illegally searched. Following the exclusionary principle, the items seized as a result of this unlawful search are inadmissible as evidence. Again, the OR and CR of the subject motorcycle, allegedly discovered as a result of the invalid search of Marvin, cannot be used as evidence against him.
When there is an irregularity in the arrest of an accused, the accused must object to the validity of his arrest before arraignment. Otherwise, the objection is deemed waived.[60] Here, Marvin may no longer raise the issue regarding the validity of his arrest, especially after participating in the proceedings before the trial court. Nonetheless, this does not preclude Court from ruling against the admissibility of the evidence obtained from the illegal warrantless arrest.[61]
As such, the OR and CR allegedly found in the bag of Marvin after he was arrested for illegal possession of firearms are inadmissible. The Court cannot consider the documents supposedly seized from Marvin's possession as part of the circumstantial evidence for the prosecution.
Neither was the search of Marvin's body and belongings valid as a stop-and-frisk search.
One of the arresting officers, SPO4 Pequiras, further muddled his testimony when he stated that the search on Marvin and his bag was due to the "information [they received] that a certain person was seen with a suspicious thing tucked [in] his waist."[62] Verily, the factual circumstances were ambiguous as to whether the arrest preceded the search, or if Marvin was stopped and frisked pursuant to the anonymous report the police received regarding a suspicious person. Regardless, the warrantless search is still unjustifiable as a stop-and-frisk search.
A stop-and-frisk search is defined as "the act of a police officer to stop a citizen on the street, interrogate him, and pat him for weapon(s) or contraband."[63] Searches under stop-and-frisk are limited to the protective search of outer clothing for weapons.[64] For purposes of searching a person's clothing for concealed weapons, the police officer is required to introduce himself properly, make initial inquiries, approach and then restrain the person manifesting unusual and suspicious conduct.[65]
In order to be considered valid, a stop and frisk search must be premised on the manifest overt acts of an accused, which give law enforcers a "genuine reason" to conduct the search. Jurisprudence has refined the standard to less than probable cause, but more than mere suspicion. The search cannot be based on a suspicion or a hunch.[66] Their suspicion is formed on the basis of the law enforcers' prior experience with criminals and their behavior, as well as the surrounding circumstances of the case.[67]
In some cases, the Court has also required the presence of more than one activity which, when taken together, gives a reasonable inference of criminal activity.[68] This is determined on a case-to-case basis, as when a man with reddish eyes, walking in a swaying manner, avoided the police officers approaching him,[69] or when a person was seen placing a heat-sealed plastic sachet containing a white substance inside a cigarette case.[70] For this particular case, however, the Court cannot discern any circumstance that would give SPO4 Pequiras a genuine reason to stop-and-frisk Marvin.
The prosecution stated that Marvin was arrested and searched because the police received a report regarding a suspicious person with something tucked in his waist. But in his testimony, SPO4 Pequiras did not specify the actions or behavior of Marvin, or the factual circumstances occurring prior to his arrest and search. He simply stated that Marvin was arrested due to the anonymous tip. SPO4 Pequiras did not even state how they were able to identify Marvin as the suspicious person referred to in the concerned citizen's report. Evidently, these are not enough to create a reasonable inference of criminal activity.
From the foregoing, the Court finds that Marvin was illegally searched. Following the exclusionary principle, the items seized as a result of this unlawful search are inadmissible as evidence. Again, the OR and CR of the subject motorcycle, allegedly discovered as a result of the invalid search of Marvin, cannot be used as evidence against him.
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