In re D.L., 147 N.E.3d 114

On March 28, 2017, police in plainclothes driving an unmarked car responded to multiple 911 calls of shots fired at the 117th block of Loomis in Chicago. No suspect description or witnesses were relayed.
While approaching the area, officers observed 16-year-old respondent D.L. and another male walking quickly; the officers watched D.L. for about five seconds from roughly one to two blocks away.
Officer Scaduto ordered D.L. to stop; D.L. ran into an alley. Officer Scaduto chased, detained, handcuffed, and performed a pat-down, recovering a .380 semiautomatic handgun. Arrest followed.
D.L. moved to quash arrest and suppress the gun, arguing the stop and search violated federal and Illinois constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The circuit court granted suppression, finding the stop was not justified at its inception and the pat-down lacked constitutional basis; the State appealed.
The appellate court affirmed, holding the officer lacked reasonable, articulable suspicion to justify the Terry stop and therefore the frisk and seizure were unlawful.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (D.L.)	Held
1. Was the initial stop justified at its inception (reasonable suspicion)?	Flight from scene of reported shots, alone with companion, walking quickly away from crime scene, and multiple 911 calls together created reasonable suspicion.	Officer observed only five seconds of ordinary walking away from the area, with no description or other suspicious conduct; order to stop was an unlawful seizure.	No. The stop was not justified at its inception; walking away from a shots-fired location and brief flight did not provide reasonable, articulable suspicion.
2. Was the pat-down (protective frisk) lawful?	Once apprehended after flight, the totality of circumstances supported a Terry stop and a reasonable belief D.L. might be armed and dangerous.	Because the stop was unlawful, any frisk lacked the prerequisite authority and was therefore unconstitutional.	No. Because the initial stop was unlawful, the pat-down and seizure of the gun were invalid and suppression was proper.

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (establishes limited investigatory stop and frisk standard)
Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (flight may be a factor but not alone sufficient for reasonable suspicion)
Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266 (anonymous tip lacking indicia of reliability cannot justify stop)
People v. Moore, 286 Ill. App. 3d 649 (flight without additional articulable facts does not justify Terry stop)
People v. Thomas, 198 Ill. 2d 103 (seizure analysis and when submission to authority occurs)
Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143 (protective search permissible only when stop is justified and officer reasonably believes suspect armed)