delivered the opinion of the Court.
Joel Terrell, Jr., the appellant, complains of a conviction of robbery in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County in a trial before Judge Walter IT. Moorman and a jury. His specific complaints are that evidence concerning tracking of the defendant by a German Shepherd dog was admitted into evidence over objection, that certain articles allegedly seized as a result of
On September 20, 1966, at approximately 10:15 P.M. three Negro males, two of whom displayed revolvers, held up the desk clerk at the Park Silver Motel on Thirteenth Street in Silver Spring, Maryland and seized a cash box containing one hundred dollars ($100.00) belonging to the motel and eighteen dollars ($18.00) belonging to the clerk. Police, who arrived within two or three minutes, brought to the motel eight to ten suspects found in the area for identification by the clerk. He declared them not to be the robbers. The trial judge sustained an objection to the question as to what description of the suspects was given to the police.
One of the occupants of the car, Kaiser Booker, admitted that he had been involved in the hold-up and during pre-trial questioning, he told the police that the defendants had been with him, but at the trial he denied the defendants had been with him and named a different person and another whose name he could not remember as his accomplices.
Cpl. Daly, of the Montgomery County Police Department, testified that after the subjects got out of the Plymouth automobile, he looked in the open door and observed a ten dollar bill protruding from the driver’s seat. In the rear of the automobile, he observed folded United States currency protruding from underneath the rear seat. On the floor he observed the butt of a pistol protruding from beneath some newspapers. Upon moving the newspapers he saw two pistols. The Plymouth was immediately towed to the Silver Spring Police Station, which was about half to three-quarters of a mile away. It was. thoroughly searched at the station and $100.13 in United States, money and the two pistols were seized; all of which were admitted into evidence at the trial. In addition, pictures of the interior of the car were taken and admitted into evidence. Some of the pictures were taken on the street at the place where the vehicle was found, others were taken at the police station soon after the car was taken there.
Terence P. Cahill was qualified as an expert in the training of dogs for use by law enforcement agencies. He testified that over a period of five years in London he had trained approximately 150 dogs and supervised the training of others;
I
The first question presented is whether or not the evidence of tracking by the German Shepherd police dog was properly admitted into evidence.
The ability of a dog to follow the human scent is not an inherent characteristic, but one that must be instilled into the animal through arduous training. A very colorful page of American folklore deals with the bloodhound tracking down a fugitive. It was not until 1893, Hodge v. State,
The Kentucky Supreme Court set forth the basic rule in 1898 when it handed down Pedigo v. Commonwealth,
“After a careful consideration of this case by the whole court, we think it may be safely laid down that, in order to make such testimony competent, even when*345 it is shown that the dog is of pure blood, and of a stock characterized by acuteness of scent and power of discrimination, it must also be established that the dog in question is possessed of these qualities, and has been trained or tested in their exercise in the tracking of human beings, and that these facts must appear from the testimony of some person who has personal knowledge thereof. We think it must also appear that the dog so trained and tested was laid on the trail, whether visible or not, concerning which testimony has been admitted, at a point where the circumstances tend clearly to show that the guilty party had been, or upon a track which such circumstances indicated to have been made by him. When so indicated, testimony as to trailing by a bloodhound may be permitted to go to the jury for what it is worth, as one of the circumstances which may tend to connect the defendant with the crime of which he is accused. When not so indicated, the trial court should exclude the entire testimony in that regard from the jury.”
Besides stating the majority rule, Pedigo, supra, set the groundwork for the minority by referring to the superstitious attitude towards the bloodhound. In 1903, the Nebraska Supreme Court in Brott v. State,
The minority rule established by Brott, supra, which like Hodge, supra, cited no authority except its own version of “common knowledge”, set out two reasons why the evidence should be excluded. The superstitious awe in which the bloodhound is held may exert an undo effect on the jury which cannot know first hand and “whether the reasons on which he acted
Although there was a rapid evolvement of the minority rule with Brott, supra, as its focal point—support for the rule was •slow. Several jurisdictions were placed in the minority camp merely because they excluded such evidence under circumstances that courts following the majority rule would also have •excluded it. For a complete discussion see State v. Dickerson, 77 Ohio St. 34,
Today, twenty-five jurisdictions in the United States have •decided cases involving tracking by dogs.
“We find no North Carolina cases, and defendant has cited none to us, in which bloodhound evidence has been excluded for a deficiency in the proof of the bloodhound’s pedigree if he is shown to be naturally capable of following the human scent, i.e. that he is a bloodhound, and if the evidence is corroborative of other evidence tending to show defendant’s guilt.” (Emphasis added).
Pedigo, supra, stated that “such testimony [is] competent, even when it is shown that the dog is of pure blood * *
The words “even when it is shown” are permissive not mandatory. It would seem by this that a showing of pedigree does not preclude exhibiting the further facts necessary in laying a proper foundation. This court does not believe that a showing of a certificate of pedigree would enhance the evidence adduced by the actions of the dog in question. Particularly apropos to this case is the statement of the Supreme Court of North Carolina in the case of State v. Rowland,
Once the proper foundation has been laid the evidence may be used to identify
The first is that “[n] either the court nor the jury can have any means of knowing why the dog does this thing or another * * People v. Pfanschmidt,
Secondly, that superstition and the legendary history of the bloodhound,
The minority feels that because of the colorful history of the bloodhound, the mere use of the dogs will arouse the public’s excitement with the result of prejudicing the defendant. A change in venue or venire may correct this; furthermore, the elements
A third criticism is “that the life and liberty of a free citizen ought not to be put in jeopardy on the testimony of dogs”,
Who is the proper person to question? The minority states that it is the dog while the majority states that it is the trainer. As stated in the first argument, the dog’s actions are predictable if he has been properly trained and the trail has been adequately followed. The trainer should be questioned to see if the dog was properly trained and the trail followed correctly'—for if this has been done, the dog’s thoughts, mannerism and such need not be looked into and if this foundation is not laid, then the evidence is excluded.
“It is the human testimony that makes the trailing done by the animal competent; and its actions are described by human testimony as it would describe the operations of a piece of intricate machinery.” State v. Dickerson,77 Ohio St. 34 ,82 N. E. 969 ,122 Am. St. R. 479 , 11 Ann. Cas. 1181, 13 L.R.A. (N.S.) 341, 349 (1907)
A further criticism brought out in Pedigo, supra and 9 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 248, 253 (1952) is that the wrong man may be convicted. This might be a good argument if this evidence alone would convict.
The latest state to be classified in the minority is Montana, State v. Storm, supra. The dogs in this case were taken off the trail. Because of the diversion as described in that case, the evidence would be excluded under Pedigo, supra, see 9 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 248, 254 (1952). It appears that the court was also concerned because of a lack of corroborative evidence.
There is one other minority jurisdiction, New York—People v. Whitlock,
*358 “There is no error in admitting the evidence of the trailing of the intruders by trained dogs. See Commonwealth v. Smith,342 Mass. 180 , 182,172 N. E. 2d 597 (bloodhounds search without result). Decisions in other states frequently have treated such evidence as admissible at least as corroborative of other testimony. See Wigmore, Evidence (3d ed.) §177. The capacity of trained dogs to follow a human’s trail has long been known, [citations omitted] Although such evidence should be limited to matters as to which it is likely to be reliable, it may be admitted in the exercise of a sound judicial discretion.”
In the case at bar, the qualifications and experience of the dog were shown. The scene was protected until the dog arrived. The dog was placed on the trail where it seemed apparent that the perpetrators of the crime had been. There was no interruption in the tracking. The dog went to the car where the appellant was hiding along with two other men. The appellant was identified by the victim. All the dog did was locate three men and the appellant was identified as one of the perpetrators. The lower court did not err in admitting evidence of tracking.
II
Terrell complains that the arrest made by Officer Fred Helton when he confined the suspects to the automobile pending arrival of re-inforcements, was made without probable cause. It seems probable that at the time the officer had been furnished with the description of the robbers as given by the victim, but that the trial court’s erroneous ruling precluding the admission of the detailed description given to the police by the victim (see footnote no. 1 supra) prevented the State from fully developing the record in this regard. If the officer looking through the car window noted that the suspects generally met this description then, of course, there would be no question that there was probable cause for the arrest since they were found a few blocks from the robbery and not too many minutes thereafter. Regardless of this, however, the information furnished by the tracking of the dog was admissible and when combined with the
Although the appellant points out that the windows of the car were misty one man opened the door and the officer was thus given a good view of him.
Terrell contends most strenuously that under Preston v. United States,
“And while ordinarily a search of a motor vehicle can be incident to an arrest only if it is substantially contemporaneous therewith and is confined to the immediate vicinity of the arrest, Preston v. United States,376 U. S. 364 , Wilson v. State, 2 Md. App. 210, in some circumstances a search may be deemed incident to an arrest, although not conducted at the scene of the arrest, when it is made with reasonable promptness at a police station to which the vehicle was towed immediately following the arrest. Thus, in Arwine v. Bannan,346 F. 2d 458 (6th Cir.), it was held at page 470-471 that the arrest and warrantless search of the defendant’s car at a police garage more than three hours after his arrest was nevertheless incident to his arrest since the arrest and search were ‘units of an integrated incident.’ In Price v. United States,348 F. 2d 68 (D. C. Cir.), the search of the defendant’s car was made after it had been impounded in the police parking lot following his arrest and trans*360 portation to the police station. The court, in upholding the search, said at page 70 that it was ‘part of a continuing series of events which included the original arrest and continued uninterruptedly as lawful police investigation and action.’ In Trotter v. Stephens,241 F. Supp. 33 (E. D. Ark.), the search of the defendant’s automobile outside of the jail to which he had been taken following his arrest was held valid, though made several hours after his arrival, the court there ruling at page 41 that the car had been obtained incident to and contemporaneous with defendant’s arrest, and that the subsequent search thereof was “merely part of one continuous act.” In United States v. Theriault,268 F. Supp. 314 (W. D. Ark.), the search of the defendant’s truck outside the police station to which he had been taken after his arrest was upheld, the court there ruling at page 324 that it was part of ‘an uninterrupted and continuing action of the police initiated by the lawful arrest of the defendant.’ To like effect, see Rodgers v. United States,362 F. 2d 358 (8th Cir.); Crawford v. Bannan,336 F. 2d 505 (6th Cir.); People v. Webb,424 P. 2d 342 (Calif.); People v. Robinson,402 P. 2d 834 (Calif.); State v. Wilson,424 P. 2d 650 (Wash.); State v. McCreary,142 N. W. 2d 240 (S. D.); State v. Wood,416 P. 2d 729 (Kan.); State v. Putnam,133 N. W. 2d 605 (Neb.). It is true, of course, that the rule authorizing a warrantless search of a motor vehicle incident to a lawful arrest is usually justified on the basis of the need of the police to seize weapons and other things which might be used to assault an officer or effect an escape, as well as the need to prevent the destruction of evidence of the crime-—-considerations of no real applicability where, as here, the suspects and their vehicle were safely in police custody at the time of the search. But as we observed in St. Clair v. State,1 Md. App. 605 , 612, and more recently in Lewis v. State, 2 Md. App. 678, these basic reasons justifying*361 a warrantless search incident to a valid arrest are not exclusive, nor do they operate to override the ultimate test governing the validity of a search and seizure without a warrant, to., whether under the facts and circumstances present in each case, the search was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.”
It will be noted that on the facts of this case, the search was begun at the scene, but it was only a matter of minutes before the victim appeared and identified the robbers, and only a few more minutes before the robbers and the car were taken to a nearby police station where it could be more conveniently searched. There was no break in the chain of events and we think there was one integrated search within the meaning of Anthony v. State, supra and that the search was therefore incident to the arrest. It would not be reasonable under these circumstances to hold that the officers were constitutionally required to complete the search in the darkness and rain when it could be done with illumination and under cover less than a mile away from the scene of the arrest.
Ill
Finally Terrell argues that under Farrow v. State,
Judgment affirmed.
Notes
. We do not know why the trial judge sustained the objection; compare Farrow v. State,
. Alabama—-Hodge v. State,
Arkansas—Holub v. State,
Florida—Davis v. State,
Georgia—Fite v. State,
Kansas—State v. Adams,
Kentucky—Pedigo v. Commonwealth,
. Illinois—People v. Pfanschmidt,
Indiana—Stout v. State,
Iowa—McClurg v. Brenton,
Montana—State v. Storm,
New York—People v. Whitlock,
Louisiana—State v. King,
Massachusetts—Commonwealth v. Smith,
Minnesota—Crosby v. Moriarty,
Mississippi—Spears v. State,
Missouri—State v. Rasco,
North Carolina—State v. Moore,
Ohio—State v. Dickerson,
Oklahoma—Buck v. State,
South Carolina—State v. Brown, 103 S. C. 437,
Tennessee—Copley v. State,
Texas—Parker v. State,
West Virginia—State v. McKinney,
. See 8 R.C.L. Criminal Law §177 (1915)
16 C.J. Criminal Law §1095 at 564-65 (1918)
22A C.J.S. Criminal Law §646 at 533-34 (1961)
26 Am. Jur. Homicide §331 at 379-80 (1940)
13 Am. Jur. 2d Burglary §44 (1964)
29 Am. Jur. 2d Evidence §§378-79 (1967)
2 Elliott, Evidence §1253 (1904)
1 Underhill, Criminal Evidence §13 at 250-51 (5th ed. 1956;
5 Minn. L. Rev. 228 (1921)
33 Yale L- Rev. 216 (1923)
9 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 248 (1952)
And the cases cited in the above; nearly all majority cases stress that a proper foundation be laid.
. See State v. King,
. In general e.g. see Richardson v. State,
. Experience of the dog e.g. see 8 R.C.L. Criminal Law §177 (1915); Holub v. State,
. Reliability of the dog e.g. see 8 R.C.L. Criminal Law §177’ (1915); Davis v. State,
. Reputation of the dog e.g. see Holub v. State,
. Skill, habit of the dog e.g. see Harris v. State,
. Training of the dog e.g. see Little v. State,
. State v. Davis,
. Brott v. State,
. Richardson v. State,
. State v. Brown, 103 S. C. 437,
. State v. Netherton,
. See 16 C. J. Criminal Law §1095 (1918)
22A C.J.S. Criminal Law §646 (1916)
33 C.J.S. Criminal Law §907 (1961)
36 Am. Jur. Homicide §463 (1940)
29 Am. Jur.2d Evidence §§378-79 (1967)
30 Am. Jur.2d Evidence §1146 (1967)
35 L.R.A. (N.S.) 870, 872 (1912)
1917E L.R.A. 726, 729
1 Underhill, Criminal Evidence §130 (5th ed. 1956)
2 Wharton, Criminal Evidence §668 (12th ed. 1955)
5 Minn. L. Rev. 228, 229 (1921)
E.g. see Meyers v. Commonwealth,
.
. See: 8 R.C.L. Criminal Law §177 (1915)
22A C.J.S. Criminal Law §646 at 534-5 (1961)
29 Am. Jur.2d Evidence §§378-79 at 431 (1967)
1 Underhill, Criminal Evidence §130 at 250-51 (5th ed. 1956)
E.g. see: Fite v. State,
. 8 R.C.L. Criminal Law §177 (1915).
. Commonwealth v. LePage, Mass. ,
. See: 16 C.J. Criminal Law §1584 at 774 (1918)
23 C.J.S. Criminal Law §920 at 649 n. 37 (1961)
94 A.R.R. 413, 416, 423-25 (1935)
1 Wigmore §177 n. 3 (3d. ed. 1940)
cf. 9 Wash. & Ree R. Rev. 248, 252 (1952) which points out that the wrong man may be identified; Meyers v. Commonwealth,
. E.g. see State v. McKinney,
. See supra, footnote 17; also see 8 R.C.R. Criminal Law §177 (1915); 16 C.J. Criminal Law §1584 at 774 n. 59C (2) (1918); cf. State v. Moore,
. See supra, footnote 3; 1 Underhill Criminal Evidence §130 at 250 (5th ed. 1956) feels that Minnesota would follow the minority, Crosby v. Moriarty,
. See 2 Wigmore §177 at 637 (3d ed. 1940)
1 Underhill, §130 at 250 (5th ed. 1956)
5 Minn. L. Rev. 228 (1921)
33 Yale L. Rev. 216 (1923)
.
. See: Bullock v. Commonwealth,
. 2 Wigmore, Evidence §177 at 636-37 (3d ed. 1940).
.
. See: 53 Am. Jur. Trial §§382, 610 (1945); 1 Underhill, Criminal' Evidence §130 at 250 (5th ed. 1956) (and cases cited therein).
. For a few cases following the majority view where the evidence was excluded see: Aaron v. State,
. See, generally: 16 C.J. Criminal Law §1095 at 565 (1918)
22A C.J.S. Criminal Law §646 (1961)
58 Am. Jur. Witness §648 (1948)
McWhorter, “The Bloodhound as a Witness”
54 Am. L. Rev. 109, 113 (1920)
5 Minn. L. Rev. 228 (1921)
33 Yale L. Rev. 216 (1923)
9 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 248, 253 (1952)
. See e.g. State v. Fixley,
. See 9 111. L. Rev. 191 (1915) discusses People v. Pfanschmidt and states the minority view.
. An earlier Indiana case Stout v. State,
. An earlier Iowa case, McClurg v. Brenton,
. See 94 A.R.R. 413, 416 (1935).
. It should be noted, however, that under Maryland Rule 739 d. 3., that in all jury trials conducted after September 1, 1967 such evidence must be received out of the presence of the jury. We do not now decide whether or not the violation of this rule would be reversible error. The present trial was begun on March 9, 1967 and concluded on March 10, 1967.
