STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. DARIEN D. ANDERSON(14-12-2063, MONMOUTH COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-0821-15T1

Background

Police in Asbury Park patrolled a high-crime apartment complex after reports of trespass, gang activity, narcotics, and gun incidents; managers requested officers to watch for trespassers during events that day.
Sergeant Pettway in an unmarked car observed defendant wearing a hooded sweatshirt (hood tight) and an additional zipped vest jacket on a warm day.
Pettway asked to speak with defendant; defendant looked back, grabbed the front waist area of his pants, and ran.
Officers pursued; defendant ran out of sight around a building, later reappeared running with his hands free, fell, and was apprehended; he said he fled because of outstanding warrants.
Pettway retraced the route and found a loaded revolver partially covered by a bandana near bushes by the building defendant had run past.
Defendant pled guilty after the trial court denied his suppression motion; he was sentenced under the Graves Act mandatory parole-ineligibility term. On appeal, he challenged the suppression ruling and raised sentencing-credit and Graves Act waiver issues.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether officers had reasonable suspicion to justify an investigatory stop (Terry stop) after defendant ran	Flight combined with defendant s grabbing his waistband, heavy clothing on warm day, and disappearance from view provided reasonable suspicion to stop and investigate	Flight alone insufficient; seizure of gun unlawful because police lacked reasonable suspicion to pursue and search the area	Denied suppression: totality of circumstances (clothing, waistband grab, flight and later hands-free) gave reasonable and articulable suspicion to justify the investigatory stop and seizure
Whether the trial court should have considered a Graves Act waiver at sentencing	State: no obligation to raise waiver sua sponte; sentencing court's omission not preserved on appeal	Defendant: court failed to consider/grant a Graves Act (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.2) waiver reducing parole ineligibility	Court declined to consider on appeal because defendant did not request waiver at sentencing; remanded to allow a motion to correct an illegal sentence under Rule 3:21-10(b)(5)
Whether defendant was entitled to jail-time (gap-time) credits for county jail time served on a municipal sentence	State disputed nature/timing of municipal sentence and credits; factual record insufficient	Defendant claimed he served municipal jail time in county jail and thus is entitled to credits against his state sentence	Trial court erred as a matter of law to deny credits solely because time was in county jail; remanded for factfinding on the antecedent municipal sentence and credit calculation
Standard of review for suppression factual findings	State: defer to trial court's credibility and factfinding	Defendant: trial court erred in applying law to facts	Appellate court affords deference to trial court's factual findings supported by record; reviews legal conclusions de novo and affirmed suppression denial

Key Cases Cited

State v. Robinson, 200 N.J. 1 (discussing appellate deference to trial court factfinding)
State v. Gonzales, 227 N.J. 77 (standard for reviewing suppression fact findings)
State v. Johnson, 42 N.J. 146 (trial judge s opportunity to observe witnesses informs deference)
State v. S.S., 229 N.J. 360 (affirming deference to trial court factfinding in suppression matters)
State v. Watts, 223 N.J. 503 (appellate review of legal conclusions is de novo)
State v. Tucker, 136 N.J. 158 (investigatory stop may occur when pursuit communicates a restraint on freedom)
State v. Williams, 410 N.J. Super. 549 (stop valid if specific, articulable facts create reasonable suspicion)
State v. Pineiro, 181 N.J. 13 (flight combined with other factors can supply reasonable suspicion)
State v. Arthur, 149 N.J. 1 (weight to officer s experience and reasonable inferences)
State v. Dangerfield, 171 N.J. 446 (flight alone does not create reasonable suspicion)
State v. Walters, 445 N.J. Super. 596 (gap-time credits can apply when municipal sentence served in county jail)
Buncie v. Dep't of Corr., 382 N.J. Super. 214 (jail-time credits for time spent in county jail prior to trial and sentencing)