J-A01002-23
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
Appellant :
:
:
v. :
:
:
OMAR PRIOLEAU : No. 1031 EDA 2022
Appeal from the Order Entered March 28, 2022
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at
No(s): CP-51-CR-0003171-2020
BEFORE: LAZARUS, J., NICHOLS, J., and McCAFFERY, J.
MEMORANDUM BY McCAFFERY, J.: FILED MAY 31, 2023
The Commonwealth appeals from the order entered in the Philadelphia
County Court of Common Pleas suppressing the physical evidence recovered
after a traffic stop of Omar Prioleau’s (Appellee’s) car. The Commonwealth
argues the trial court erred by finding the officers did not have reasonable
suspicion or probable cause to stop Appellee’s vehicle based on violations of
the Philadelphia Parking Code1 (the Code). After careful consideration, we
reverse the trial court’s suppression order and remand for further proceedings.
____________________________________________
1 Phila. Code, §§ 12-XXX-XX-XXXX; https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/
codes/philadelphia/latest/philadelphia_pa/0-0-0-266407.
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On January 11, 2020, around 9:49 p.m., Philadelphia Police Officers
Michael Sidebotham2 and Ryan Del Ricci initiated a traffic stop after observing
a vehicle they believed to be illegally parked in a bus zone with the engine
running. N.T., 2/4/22, at 15-16, 31. Officer Sidebotham noted the vehicle
and the driver — Appellee — matched descriptions of a perpetrator and
getaway car from a December 16, 2019, homicide investigation. Id. at 17,
19. The officers arrested Appellee and confiscated his clothing — allegedly
the same worn during the murder — a ski mask, and marijuana. Id. at 7, 19-
20, 24. He was subsequently charged with, inter alia, first-degree murder3 in
relation to the December 2019 homicide.
On August 18, 2021, Appellee filed a motion to suppress all physical
evidence recovered from the traffic stop, arguing the officers did not have
reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop the vehicle, and consequently,
any evidence from the subsequent warrantless search was illegally obtained.
See Appellee’s Motion to Suppress the Physical Evidence, 8/18/21, at 2
(unpaginated). On February 4, 2022, the court held a suppression hearing,
where the Commonwealth presented the testimony of Officer Sidebotham, as
summarized below.
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2 The notes of testimony spell Officer Sidebotham’s name “Sitdeotham.”
However, the certified record spells his name “Sidebotham.” Thus, we use
this spelling.
3 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(a).
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Officer Sidebotham testified that on December 16, 2019, a homicide
occurred in the area of 67th Avenue and North Broad Street in Philadelphia.
N.T. at 7. Two days after the murder, Philadelphia Homicide Detective Cutler4
contacted Officer Sidebotham so he could review surveillance footage of the
crime. Id. The video showed the perpetrator — who had a tattoo on his hand,
and was wearing “black tattered jeans,” a black cardigan, and “green military-
colored shoes with distinct black soles”5 — shooting the victim and fleeing the
scene. See id. at 7-9, 19-20. Officer Sidebotham also reviewed “stills” of the
getaway car — a 2008 gray Infiniti G35x, with “silver or gray” rims and a
Pennsylvania tag LBM-2931. Id. at 9-11, 17. On January 7, 2020, Detective
Cutler contacted Officer Sidebotham to inform him the getaway car from the
December 16, 2019, homicide was parked two blocks away from the crime
scene. Id. at 11.
A few days later, on January 11th, Officers Sidebotham and Del Ricci,
were on patrol in the area of 68th Avenue and North Broad Street. N.T. at 6,
13. Near 6802 North Broad Street, Officer Sidebotham saw a car parked on
top of a white “X” box on the street “in front of a bus lane stop[.]” Id. at 15-
16. The bus zone was marked by a sign, which stated “no parking” with an
arrow pointing to the left. Id. at 32-33. The vehicle was parked to the right
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4 Detective Cutler’s first name does not appear in the record.
5 From the testimony elicited at the suppression hearing, it appears the
homicide suspect was also wearing a ski mask in the surveillance footage.
See N.T. at 29-30.
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of the sign. Id. at 33. The officers pulled behind the car, activated their
lights, and initiated a traffic stop. Id. at 31-32.
Officer Sidebotham acknowledged no buses passed while he observed
the vehicle parked in that location and did not state how long the car was idle
before he initiated the traffic stop. N.T. at 33. However, he did note that he
did not “sit on it for a while” before activating his lights. See id. In his report,
the officer stated he stopped the vehicle because the “engine [was] running
in a bus zone, sign posted also with a large X on the pavement marking no
car zone.” Id. at 31. However, at the hearing, Officer Sidebotham testified
he noticed the car because “[i]t matched the description of the stills [of the
getaway vehicle from the December 2019 homicide] and it had the same style
rims, either silver or gray.” Id. at 17. Though the vehicle had the same
license plate as the getaway car, he did not recall if he noticed this before or
after activating his lights. Id. at 36. Officer Sidebotham admitted at the
hearing that he had “[n]o idea” how a 2008 Infiniti G35x would differ from the
same model manufactured in another year. Id. at 35.
Officer Sidebotham approached the vehicle, and when the occupants
rolled down the windows, he smelled marijuana coming from the inside. N.T.
at 29. There were three occupants in the vehicle. See id. at 22. Appellee
was in the driver’s seat “wearing black tattered jeans[ in] the same style” as
the perpetrator from the December 2019 murder. Id. at 19. Officer
Sidebotham testified that because the vehicle matched the description of the
getaway car, and Appellee matched the description of the December 2019
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homicide suspect, he asked all of the occupants to exit the vehicle. Id. at 22.
Once Appellee was out of the car, Officer Sidebotham noticed that he was
wearing “the same” black cardigan and “very distinct sneakers” as the
perpetrator in the surveillance video. Id. at 20. The officer also saw that
Appellee, like the perpetrator in the video, had a tattoo on his hand, but it is
unclear from the testimony when he saw the tattoo. See id. at 19-20
(testifying he asked Appellee to exit the car after seeing his jeans and “once
[Appellee] exit[ed] the vehicle[,]” he noticed, inter alia, the tattoo), 21-22
(stating that when he “initially approached the vehicle[,]” the officer saw
Appellee’s hands).
After Appellee and the other two passengers6 exited the vehicle, the
officers placed Appellee in handcuffs and contacted Detective Cutler. N.T. at
23-24. Officer Sidebotham “held the scene for a search warrant[,]” but before
commencing a search, he saw “a ski mask[7] . . . and some marijuana in the
back seat” of the car. Id. at 24. Officer Sidebotham then searched8 the
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6 One of the car’s passengers, Brandon McKelvy, was arrested for an
outstanding warrant unrelated to the present appeal or the 2019 homicide.
See N.T. at 23. The remaining passenger, Dante Carter, was free to leave
the scene. Id.
7 Officer Sidebotham clarified the ski mask recovered from the vehicle search
“didn’t match the type of ski mask that the shooter was wearing” during the
2019 homicide. N.T. at 29-30.
8It is not apparent from Officer Sidebotham’s testimony if he secured a search
warrant before entering the vehicle.
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interior and trunk of the vehicle, but did not recover any further evidence. 9
Id. at 25-26. Officers Sidebotham and Del Ricci transported Appellee to the
police station where they collected his clothing and shoes as evidence related
to the 2019 homicide. Id. at 26-27.
After the hearing, the trial court entered an order granting Appellee’s
motion to suppress the physical evidence obtained from the vehicle search.
Order, 3/28/22.10 The Commonwealth timely filed an appeal11 and certified
that the court’s suppression order “terminate[d] or substantially
handicap[ped]” its prosecution of the case. See Commonwealth’s Notice of
Appeal, 4/11/22; Pa.R.A.P. 311(d).
The Commonwealth raises one issue on appeal:
Did the [trial] court err in suppressing physical evidence,
particularly clothing worn by [Appellee,] which supported the
inference that he was the perpetrator of a homicide, where the
evidence was discovered by the police when they lawfully stopped
the vehicle he was driving?
Commonwealth’s Brief at 4.
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9Additional officers arrived at some point during the search. See N.T. at 26.
One of them transported McKelvy to police headquarters. Id.
10The trial court subsequently issued “Findings of Fact and Conclusions of
Law” pertaining to this matter on June 21, 2022. See Findings of Fact and
Conclusions of Law, 6/21/22.
11On May 2, 2022, the Commonwealth complied with the trial court’s order
and filed a concise statement of matters complained of on appeal pursuant to
Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b). As noted above, the trial court filed its Findings of Fact
and Conclusions of Law on June 21st, followed by a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion
on June 24th. See Trial Ct. Op., 6/24/22.
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When reviewing a challenge to a suppression order, we apply the
following standard of review:
[A]n appellate court is required to determine whether the record
supports the suppression court’s factual findings and whether the
inferences and legal conclusions drawn by the suppression court
from those findings are appropriate. [Where the defendant]
prevailed in the suppression court, we may consider only the
evidence of the defense and so much of the evidence for the
Commonwealth as remains uncontradicted when read in the
context of the record as a whole. Where the record supports the
factual findings of the suppression court, we are bound by those
facts and may reverse only if the legal conclusions drawn
therefrom are in error. However, where the appeal of the
determination of the suppression court turns on allegations of
legal error, the suppression court’s conclusions of law are not
binding on an appellate court, whose duty it is to determine if the
suppression court properly applied the law to the facts.
Commonwealth v. Tillery, 249 A.3d 278, 280 (Pa. Super. 2021) (citations
omitted).
There are three categories of interactions police can have with civilians:
The first is a mere encounter, sometimes referred to as a
consensual encounter, which does not require the officer to have
any suspicion that the citizen is or has been engaged in criminal
activity. This interaction also does not compel the citizen to stop
or respond to the officer. A mere encounter does not constitute a
seizure, as the citizen is free to choose whether to engage with
the officer and comply with any requests made or, conversely, to
ignore the officer and continue on his or her way.
The second type of interaction, an investigative detention,
is a temporary detention of a citizen. This interaction constitutes
a seizure of a person, and to be constitutionally valid police must
have a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.
The third, a custodial detention, is the functional equivalent
of an arrest and must be supported by probable cause. . . .
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Commonwealth v. Adams, 205 A.3d 1195, 1199-1200 (Pa. 2019) (citations
omitted & paragraph breaks added), cert denied, 140 S.Ct. 2703 (U.S. 2020).
Regarding traffic stops, this Court has stated the following:
A police officer has the authority to stop a vehicle when he
or she has reasonable suspicion that a violation of the vehicle code
has taken place, for the purpose of obtaining necessary
information to enforce the provisions of the [Motor Vehicle C]ode.
75 Pa.C.S.A. § 6308(b). However, if the violation is such that it
requires no additional investigation, the officer must have
probable cause to initiate the stop.
Put another way, if the officer has a legitimate expectation
of investigatory results, the existence of reasonable suspicion will
allow the stop — if the officer has no such expectations of learning
additional relevant information concerning the suspected criminal
activity, the stop cannot be constitutionally permitted on the basis
of mere suspicion.
* * *
The police have probable cause where the facts and
circumstances within the officer’s knowledge are sufficient to
warrant a person of reasonable caution in the belief that an
offense has been or is being committed. We evaluate probable
cause by considering all relevant facts under a totality of
circumstances analysis.
Commonwealth v. Spence, 290 A.3d 301, 312 (Pa. Super. 2023) (emphasis
& some citations omitted).
Returning to the Commonwealth’s argument, it avers the court erred
when it suppressed the physical evidence recovered after the traffic stop.
Commonwealth’s Brief at 13. It insists that even though Appellee’s car was
parked behind the “no parking” sign, thus complying with its directive, the car
was still in violation of traffic regulations. Id. at 16-17. The Commonwealth
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contends that Appellee was stopped in a box with a large white “X” painted on
the street, which also signals a no parking zone. Id. at 17-18. The
Commonwealth maintains that the trial court erroneously relied on Coard v.
City of Philadelphia, 2018 WL 844818 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2018), a non-
precedential Commonwealth Court opinion,12 when it stated that “posted signs
designat[e] where parking is prohibited[,] not any markings on the
pavement.” Id. at 20, citing Trial Ct. Op., at 7. It argues that Coard “does
not support the conclusion that roadway markings need not be followed” as
the trial court suggests. Commonwealth’s Brief at 20.
Moreover, the Commonwealth maintains that even if Appellee was
parked legally, the totality of the circumstances supported the traffic stop.
Commonwealth’s Brief at 23. It avers that the officers saw a car stopped
“within a ‘box’ . . . that had a large white X[;]” thus they had a “legitimate
belief” that the car was stopped illegally. Id. at 23-24. The Commonwealth
contends that this observation, combined with the officers recognizing the
vehicle as the getaway car from a recent homicide, justified initiating further
investigation. Id.
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12Decisions of the Commonwealth Court are not binding upon this Court, but
may serve as persuasive authority. See Pa.R.A.P. 126(b)(1)-(2) (unreported
memorandum opinions of the Commonwealth Court filed after January 15,
2008, may be cited as persuasive authority); Commonwealth v. Bowers,
185 A.3d 358, 362 n.4 (Pa. Super. 2018) (Commonwealth Court decisions are
not binding on this Court but may be used as persuasive authority).
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In response, Appellee argues that while pavement markings are
“legitimate means of communicating certain vehicular conduct,” here they are
“irrelevant.” Appellee’s Brief at 22-23. Appellee contends that traffic control
devices “ha[ve] a specific purpose[,]” which is to guide traffic, not “demarcate
a fixed use area.” Id. at 23-24. He maintains that to honor the pavement
markings in this matter would render Section 12-913(1)(a)(.9) of the
Philadelphia Parking Code superfluous. See id. at 24. Further, he insists that
under “the plain language of [the Code], the white ‘X’ on the pavement did
not legally create a no-parking zone.” Id. at 25.
In the alternative, Appellee avers that even if he was parked in a bus
zone, under Section 12-909 of the Code, he may “temporarily stop . . . for the
purpose of and while actually engaged in the loading or unloading of
passengers[.]” Appellee’s Brief at 26, citing Phila. Code. § 12-909. He
maintains that there was no testimony at the suppression hearing that he was
parked in the bus zone for a significant amount of time or that he was not
loading or unloading passengers. Id. at 27.
Pertinent to the issue on appeal, we note that generally, the Motor
Vehicle Code is the controlling law for traffic violations. However, when both
the Motor Vehicle Code and local ordinances provide for the same conduct and
the offense is rooted in a parking violation — not a moving violation — we
apply local ordinances. See 75 Pa.C.S. § 6301 (“Except for parking violations,
when the same conduct is proscribed under [the Motor Vehicle Code] and a
local ordinance, the charge shall be brought under this title and not under the
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local ordinance. . . .”). As the underlying traffic stop stems from a parking
violation, we apply Philadelphia’s local parking code to our analysis.
Relevant herein, the Code dictates:
Except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or to
protect the safety of any person or vehicle or in compliance with
law or the directions of a police officer or official traffic-control
device, no person shall [s]top, stand or park a vehicle . . . [a]t
any place where official signs prohibit stopping.
Phila. Code § 12-913(1)(a)(.9). “Official traffic control device[s]” include:
All signs, signals, markings and devices placed or erected by state
or city officials having jurisdiction for the purpose of regulating,
warning, or guiding traffic, in accordance with the provisions of
The Vehicle Code.
Phila. Code § 12-102(11). “No operator shall violate the instructions of any
official traffic-control device[.]” Phila. Code § 12-1202(1).
Further, generally, “[w]hen signs are erected giving notice thereof, no
operator shall stop, stand or park a vehicle in . . . a designated bus stop[.]”
Phila. Code § 12-901(1)(b). The Code defines a bus stop as “[a] fixed area in
the roadway parallel and adjacent to the curb set aside for the expeditious
loading and unloading of passengers only.” Phila. Code § 12-102(4). The
Code also provides for the following exception to this rule:
No person shall stop, stand, or park a vehicle other than a bus in
a bus stop or bus stand . . . except that the operator of a
passenger vehicle may temporarily stop therein for the purpose of
and while actually engaged in loading or unloading passengers
when such stopping does not interfere with any bus . . . about to
enter such stand.
Phila. Code § 12-909(1).
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We note that the trial court did not make any findings pertaining to the
search of Appellee’s vehicle after the stop or his subsequent arrest in either
its June 21st Findings of Fact or June 24th opinion. See Findings of Fact and
Conclusions of Law, at 1-3; Trial Ct. Op., at 1-7. Rather, the court’s decision
to grant Appellee’s suppression motion was based solely on the purported
illegality of the initial traffic stop. The trial court opined:
In the instant case the only specific, articulable fact that Officer
Sidebotham possessed was that the vehicle they were stopping,
was stopped with the engine running, behind a sign that
prohibited parking in front of the sign. Philadelphia Code § 12-
901(1)(b) prohibits parking in a designated bus zone, which is the
provision that was relied on in this case as the justification for this
vehicle stop.
However, it is the posted signs designating where parking is
prohibited that is controlling, not any markings on the pavement.
Coard[, 2018 WL 844818]. Here, the vehicle was stopped within
the large “X” marking on the road, but it was behind the area that
the sign designated as the no parking zone. The officer could not
come up with any specific articulable facts for stopping the car —
he did not remember when he saw the license plate, and he was
not able to see inside the vehicle until after he was approaching
the car and the occupants rolled down the windows. [Appellee]
did not attempt to flee, was not looking around furtively, nor was
he the subject of a radio call or complaint.
There was absolutely no interaction between the police
officers and [Appellee]. There was a complete lack of specific,
articulable facts which would warrant a man of reasonable caution
in the belief that criminality was afoot and that the action of
stopping the idling vehicle, parked behind the signed prohibited
area was the appropriate action to be taken.
Trial Ct. Op., at 6-7 (paragraph breaks added). We disagree with the trial
court’s conclusions.
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First, we note that the trial court’s reliance on Coard is misplaced. In
Coard, the defendant received a parking ticket for parking in a bus zone.
Coard, 2018 WL 844818, at *1. He challenged the ticket, arguing that while
the bus zone was denoted by a sign, it was not designated by pavement
markings, as required by the Code.13 Id. The Bureau of Administrative
Adjudication14 (BAA) affirmed his citation and he appealed to the Parking
Appeals Panel. Id. The defendant argued that even though there was a sign
posted, his car was parked “between the sign and a big ‘X’ in a box . . . on the
pavement[,]” which designated the no parking zone. Id. The Appeals Panel
affirmed the citation, stating “[t]he regulation is established by the postage
signage and not the marking on the ground.” Id. (quotation marks &
emphasis omitted). He then appealed to the trial court, which reversed the
BAA’s decision, noting that no parking zones are
presumed to be marked with painted lines on the roadway[ and
a]lthough signs may also be erected under [the Code] they do not
alter the Streets Department’s demarcation of designated areas.
Thus, [the trial court] held the BAA erred in finding a violation
when [the defendant’s] vehicle was not parked in an area
designated by pavement markings.
Id. at *2 (quotation marks & record citation omitted).
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13 The Philadelphia Parking Code was the governing local ordinance for the
area in which the defendant received a parking ticket.
14 The BAA is responsible for the resolution of parking ticket disputes in the
City of Philadelphia. See https://www.phila.gov/departments/bureau-of-
administrative-adjudication/.
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The City of Philadelphia appealed the decision to the Commonwealth
Court, arguing the Code does not require pavement markings to denote a bus
zone, but only signage. Coard, 2018 WL 844818, *2. The Commonwealth
Court concluded the no parking sign gave the defendant notice that parking
his vehicle in front of the sign was prohibited. Id. at *5. It noted that the
trial court’s interpretation of the Code “disregarded the purpose of signage”
which “prohibited parking where he parked.” Id. (emphasis in original).
Further, it stated:
We are unpersuaded by [the defendant’s] argument, which the
trial court adopted, that designation must be shown by painted
lines on the pavement. There is simply no basis for that
requirement in the Code. In reaching its conclusion, the trial court
ignored the plain language of Section 12-901 that imposed
prohibitions “when signs are erected.”
Id. (record citation omitted); see also Phila. Code § 12-901(1)(b) (“When
signs are erected giving notice thereof, no operator shall stop, stand or park
a vehicle in . . . a designated bus stop[.]). We conclude Coard is
distinguishable from the present facts.
In Coard, the Commonwealth Court determined the defendant
committed a parking violation when he parked in front of a sign, which
unequivocally stated, “no parking” and “bus zone.” The Commonwealth Court
rejected the argument that pavement markings, not signs, designated no
parking zones. However, the Court did not suggest that one should ignore
pavement markings all together and only comply with the directives of
signage. Instead, it based its decision on the fact that the posted signage
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“prohibited parking where he parked.” Coard, 2018 WL 844818, at *5
(emphasis omitted). Insinuating that this reasoning then lends itself to the
conclusion that individuals may entirely ignore pavement markings is not
supported by the Commonwealth Court’s analysis. Moreover, even if we
accepted the trial court’s interpretation of Coard, the opinion is non-
precedential. Thus, it can only be cited as persuasive authority, and we would
decline to apply that rationale to the present facts.
Returning to the present matter, we conclude that under the Code,
Appellee was parked illegally. Though Appellee was parked behind a sign
which dictated a no parking zone in front of it, his vehicle was on top of a
traffic control device marker — a large white “X” — communicating that no
parking was allowed in that space. See Phila. Code § 12-1202(1) (“No
operator shall violate the instructions of any official traffic-control device[.]”);
Phila. Code § 12-102(11) (traffic control devices include markings erected by
state or city officials). As such, the traffic stop was supported by probable
cause. See Spence, 290 A.3d at 312 (probable cause exists where police
have a reasonable belief that a criminal offense has been committed). The
parties seem to imply that whether Appellee committed a violation heavily
relies on whether he was stopped in a bus zone. However, regardless of the
borders of the bus zone, Appellee was violating a local traffic ordinance. The
traffic control device at issue — a large white “X” painted next to a curb —
communicates to drivers that parking in that area was prohibited.
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We reject Appellee’s argument that pavement markings are “irrelevant”
and would render signs superfluous. See Appellee’s Brief at 22-24. In fact,
to adopt his interpretation would result in a traffic control device — markings
— becoming superfluous. We decline to conclude that only one of these
mechanisms need be obeyed in this instance.
Appellee also argues that Section 12-909 of the Code provides an
applicable exception. See Appellee’s Brief at 26. We disagree. This Section
allows for a vehicle to temporarily stop in a bus zone while “actually engaged
in loading or unloading passengers[.]” See Phila. Code § 12-909. Appellee
is correct that there was no testimony that he was parked for a significant
amount of time. However, there was also no evidence presented suggesting
that he was “actually engaged in” the conduct which lends itself to the
exception. The officer did not observe another individual approaching or
leaving the vehicle before initiating the stop.
Moreover, even if Appellee parked in a legal parking space, the totality
of the circumstances supported a valid traffic stop. Officer Sidebotham
testified that he was participating in an ongoing homicide investigation. See
N.T. at 7. About one month after the crime, he observed a vehicle matching
the description of the perpetrator’s getaway car parked about one block away
from the scene of the murder. See id. at 13, 15, 17. Specifically, the officer
recounted that he recognized the vehicle from the “stills of the getaway car”
he saw during the investigation and it “had the same style rims, either silver
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or gray.”15 See id. at 9-10, 17. The matching vehicle description coupled
with its proximity to the homicide supported the officers’ decision to initiate
further investigation.
Thus, on the narrow issue of whether the traffic stop was valid, we
disagree with the trial court’s determination. Appellee may not ignore a traffic
control device in favor of other mandates absent direction from police. See
Phila. Code § 12-1202 (vehicles may violate a traffic control device when
“directed by . . . police[ ]”); see also Trial Ct. Op., at 7. Further, we conclude
the officers had probable cause to initiate a traffic stop when Appellee’s vehicle
was parked in violation of the Code and the totality of the circumstances
demonstrated that the vehicle was potentially connected to an ongoing murder
investigation. As the issue before us concerns only the validity of the initial
traffic stop, we express no opinion as to the legitimacy of the subsequent
search.
Order reversed. Case remanded for further proceedings. Jurisdiction
relinquished.
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15 The vehicle’s license plate also matched the plate of the getaway car.
However, we reiterate that Officer Sidebotham was unsure of whether he
recognized this before or after he initiated the traffic stop. See N.T. at 36.
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Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 5/31/2023
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