OPINION ON APPELLANT’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW
Appellant was convicted of possession of less than twenty-eight grams of cocaine, and was sentenced to fifteen years confinement. The Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction.
Rance v. State,
Appellant was arrested during a “citywide crackdown” of cocaine dealers. A search pursuant to that arrest disclosed a vial containing a small amount of cocaine residue. Appellant filed a motion to suppress this evidence, complaining that the search was unlawful because no probable cause existed to arrest him. A hearing was conducted on this motion, after which the trial court overruled the motion. Appellant pleaded guilty to the offense with punishment assessed pursuant to a plea agreement.
At the suppression hearing Sergeant Ro-binette testified that he was one of several officers in a van parked behind an apartment complex while an undercover officer, Nichols, purchased cocaine from a car in the street in front of the complex, about two blocks away. Another officer, Beasley, observed the purchase being made and radioed a description and location of the two sellers to Robinette’s van. The van was immediately driven to the front of the apartment complex, taking no more than thirty seconds, where Robinette observed appellant and a companion. Robinette approached appellant, informed him that he was under arrest for selling narcotics, placed him on the ground, and did a pat-down search. This search revealed the broken glass vial with cocaine residue.
After making the arrest, Robinette took appellant to the raid van 25 or 30 yards away. There Nichols informed Robinette that appellant was not one of the sellers.
Robinette stated that he could not remember the exact description of the suspects as broadcast by Beasley, other than of “black male, tall, slim build,” standing in front of the apartment building in the 7200 block of Scott. However, he believed appellant and his companion met the broadcast description. On cross-examination Ro-binette admitted that the offense report, drafted by a different officer, described the actual sellers as 15 and 17 years old, both five feet six inches tall, with one wearing white pants and no shirt, the other blue jeans and a white tee shirt. Robinette could not remember what clothing appellant was wearing at the time of the arrest, but admitted he looked older than fifteen, was about six feet tall, and the clothes he was wearing in court would not match the descriptions of the sellers in the offense report.
Chenedert testified that he was one of the sellers, that when he arrived on the street to make the drug transaction he had noticed appellant on a corner at the other end of the block, about fifty yards away. At that time appellant was wearing the same clothes he wore in court, a blue shirt and black pants. Chenedert also stated that appellant had no involvement in the drug sale to Nichols.
*635 The Court of Appeals majority held that the police had probable cause to arrest appellant because he was present at the location of the offense a matter of seconds after it occurred, and met the “general description” of the drug sellers. They also concluded appellant was found in a suspicious place because he was at the scene of a drug transaction only seconds after the broadcast of a radio transmission describing it, and held this allowed appellant’s warrantless arrest pursuant to Art. 14.-03(a)(1), V.A.C.C.P. The dissent concluded that neither Nichols nor Beasley had probable cause to believe appellant had committed any offense, so Robinette could not rely on Beasley’s request to arrest the cocaine sellers to support appellant’s warrantless arrest under either Art. 14.01 or Art. 14.04, V.A.C.C.P.
Appellant here complains that no probable cause existed which would justify his warrantless arrest. Although he does not specifically reference Art. 14.03,
1
his contention necessarily attacks the Court of Appeals’ holding that “the officers acted upon probable cause and in the reasonable belief that the appellant was the man who had sold cocaine to the undercover officer.” See and compare,
Polk v. State,
As a general rule, our statutes require police to obtain a warrant before arresting a suspect.
Dejarnette v. State,
“Whether at that moment the facts and circumstances within the officer’s knowledge and of which (he) had reasonably trustworthy information were sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the (arrested person) had committed or was committing an offense.”
Stull v. State,
The record in this cause clearly establishes that Robinette was in possession of reasonably trustworthy information (Beasley’s broadcast that he had witnessed a drug transaction) that someone had committed an offense. 2 However, the question remains whether Robinette’s conclusion that appellant matched the general description broadcast about the offender, absent evidence detailing that description, is adequate to warrant a prudent man to believe appellant committed the offense. Relevant to this issue is the existence of a description of the actual offenders which is substantially different from that of appellant at the time of his arrest.
In situations involving a warrant-less arrest, the State carries the burden of showing the arrest was based on probable cause.
Russell v. State,
The State failed to present evidence showing probable cause to believe appellant was one of the offenders, and thus did not show appellant was found “under circumstances which reasonably show [he was] guilty of some felony.” See Art. 14.-03(a)(1).
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is therefore reversed and the cause is remanded to that court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Notes
. Appellant does not contest the holding that he was in a "suspicious place.” Therefore, we do not address the correctness of that holding. Also, we do not address the applicability of Arts. 14.01 or 14.04, V.A.C.C.P., because the Court of Appeals majority did not rely on those statutes in upholding appellant’s arrest and search.
. Appellant argues that
Colston v. State,
However,
Colston
only holds that evidence establishing probable cause for the requesting officer must be presented. Merely showing that an arrest was made because another officer requested it is not sufficient. Robinette’s testimony established that at the time of appellant’s arrest Robinette was aware of facts which constituted probable cause to believe someone had committed a felony. Although this testimony was based on hearsay, hearsay may be used to establish probable cause.
Juarez v. State,