Furr v. State
2016 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1094
| Tex. Crim. App. | 2016Background
- Officers received an anonymous tip that two white males (one in all black, one in a black shirt with a brown backpack) were "using drugs" on a specific street corner in a known high-drug, high-crime area.
- Officer Alvarez saw two men matching the description; Furr walked away into a nearby shelter while repeatedly glancing back at the officer.
- Officers entered the shelter, found Furr nervous, sweating, evasive, and appearing "kind of out of it." Ayala asked if Furr had weapons; Furr did not initially respond.
- Officer Ayala conducted a frisk for weapons, felt and recovered a glass crack pipe and syringes, arrested Furr for paraphernalia, then seized a wallet containing two balloons of suspected heroin.
- Trial court denied Furr’s motion to suppress; Furr pled guilty reserving appeal rights. The court of appeals affirmed; the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the court of appeals.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Furr) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the anonymous tip and subsequent observations created reasonable suspicion to detain Furr | Anonymous tip alone was insufficient (citing J.L.); officers did not sufficiently corroborate alleged drug activity before detention | Detention did not begin until the frisk; officers could consider everything observed prior to frisk — tip + high-crime location + furtive retreat + nervousness + possible intoxication suffice | Court held totality (tip + matching description + high-crime area + furtive retreat + observed nervousness/out-of-it behavior) provided reasonable suspicion to detain |
| Whether the pat-down (Terry frisk) was justified because officers reasonably believed Furr was armed and dangerous | Frisk not supported: no specific facts showing Furr was armed; nervousness/flight insufficient to justify weapons frisk | Officers reasonably could believe person using drugs in a high-crime area might be armed; nonresponse to weapon question and other circumstances increased safety concerns | Court declined to adopt a per se "guns follow drugs" rule for all possession suspects but held that, under the circumstances, the frisk was objectively justified for officer safety |
Key Cases Cited
- Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266 (2000) (anonymous tip identifying a person carrying a gun, without indicia of reliability, insufficient for stop-and-frisk)
- Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325 (1990) (an anonymous tip corroborated by predictive or verifiable details can supply reasonable suspicion)
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) (established the standards for investigative stops and limited protective frisks)
- United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1 (1989) (aggregation of innocuous facts may create reasonable suspicion for a stop)
- Wade v. State, 422 S.W.3d 661 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (discusses consensual encounters v. detentions and totality-of-circumstances reasonable-suspicion analysis)
- Griffin v. State, 215 S.W.3d 403 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (recognizes it is objectively reasonable to believe narcotics traffickers may be armed, but distinguishes dealers from mere users)