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Name: People v. Lindsey
Case #: A113628
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 1 DCA
Division: 4
Opinion Date: 03/27/2007
Summary

An anonymous 9-1-1 call reporting shots fired will be sufficient to support a subsequent detention and search where: (1) the reported conduct involves a grave and immediate risk to those nearby; (2) there is no indication the call is a hoax; (3) the caller provided a first-hand, contemporaneous descripton of the crimes and the perpetrator and his location; and there is a plausible reason the caller wished to remain anonymous. (People v. Dolly (2007) 40 Cal.4th 458.) Here, dispatch received a 9-1-1 call from a woman who stated she saw a Black man with small ponytails and then heard shots fired as she entered her residence and that this was the third time it had happened. Police were able to trace the call and later confirmed the identity of the caller. The responding officer knew the area as a high crime, high drug area. Arriving at the reported location, the officer observed appellant, who matched the description provided by the anonymous caller. Appellant was walking with his hands at his waist and appeared to hold something heavy at his waistband. Under the totality of these circumstances, the officer had a reasonable suspicion that appellant was involved in criminal activity and was armed, so as to justify a detention and search.