Powell v. Commonwealth, 57 Va. App. 329

Powell, driving away from a known drug house, is observed by a Danville officer during surveillance based on intelligence of ongoing cocaine activity.
Powell’s vehicle nearly collides with an unmarked car; officer follows and observes Powell side-by-side with another vehicle.
Powell and the other driver engage in a hand-to-hand transaction; Powell makes a wiping motion suggesting concealment of crack cocaine.
The officer stops Powell near dumpsters and arrests him; marijuana, cash, and other drug paraphernalia are found on Powell and in the vehicle.
Powell moves to suppress the evidence as stemming from an unlawful search without probable cause; the trial court denies the motion and convicts Powell on all counts.
On appeal, Powell argues lack of probable cause and unlawful vehicle search; the appellate court affirms, upholding the searches as valid under probable cause and Gant-based vehicle search standards.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the officer had probable cause to arrest Powell.	Powell claims no probable cause.	Commonwealth contends probable cause existed.	Probable cause found; arrest justified.
Whether the vehicle search was valid incident to arrest.	Powell argues the vehicle search exceeded scope.	Commonwealth argues search reasonable under Gant.	Vehicle search lawful under Gant and incident-to-arrest.

Joyce v. Commonwealth, 56 Va.App. 646, 696 S.E.2d 237 (2010) (probable cause standard is flexible and not overly precise)
Ross v. Commonwealth, 35 Va.App. 103, 542 S.E.2d 819 (2001) (hand-to-hand drug transaction with corroborating factors supports probable cause)
Atwater v. Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318 (2001) (arrest of a suspect in presence of offense permissible without warrant)
Virginia v. Moore, 553 U.S. 164, 128 S. Ct. 1598 (2008) (search incident to lawful arrest valid under Fourth Amendment)
Arizona v. Gant, 129 S. Ct. 1710 (2009) (vehicle search permitted when reasonable belief evidence relates to arrest crime)