State v. Marino, 74 So. 3d 742

Marino was charged with possession of heroin; he pleaded guilty under Crosby and was sentenced to seven years with time served; on appeal, Marino challenges a suppression ruling.
Police received an untested confidential informant tip that Marino sold heroin and surveilled his residence based on that tip.
During surveillance, Marino left his residence on a Harley, visited a bank, went to an apartment in Jefferson Parish, entered and exited, then returned to Orleans Parish with his wallet; officers stopped him in Orleans Parish.
Marino was advised he was under investigation for narcotics, Miranda rights were read, and two foil packets of heroin were found in his saddlebag wallet upon search.
The district court denied the suppression motion; this Court later granted appeal and ultimately found the stop/search unlawful and reversed, remanding for further proceedings.
The decree vacated Marino’s conviction and remanded for retrial or other proceedings consistent with suppression relief.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether there was reasonable suspicion to stop Marino	Marino: tip lacked reliability and predictive detail	State: corroboration of some details suffices	No reasonable suspicion; stop unlawful
Whether the resulting seizure was lawful as fruit of an unlawful stop	Seizure invalid if stop invalid	Evidence admissible despite stop	Seizure suppressed; reversal and remand

State v. Creecy, 742 So.2d 615 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1999) (informant tips alone insufficient for probable cause; need reliability)
State v. Robertson, 721 So.2d 1268 (La. 1998) (reasonable suspicion requires corroboration and specific facts showing potential criminal activity)
State v. Belton, 441 So.2d 1195 (La. 1983) (balance of intrusion vs. need to search; totality of circumstances for stop)
State v. Oliver, 752 So.2d 911 (La. App. 4th Cir. 1999) (trial court discretion on suppression motions; standard of review)