Tyrone Wade v. United States


Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the Atlantic and Maryland Reporters. Users are requested to notify the Clerk of the Court of any formal errors so that corrections may be made before the bound volumes go to press. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS No. 16-CF-285 TYRONE WADE, APPELLANT, V. UNITED STATES, APPELLEE. Appeal from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (CF2-14002-15) (Hon. Lynn Leibovitz, Trial Judge) (Submitted September 13, 2017 Decided November 16, 2017) April E. Fearnley was on the brief for appellant. Channing D. Phillips, United States Attorney at the time the brief was filed, and Elizabeth Trosman, Elizabeth H. Danello, Monica Trigoso, and Akhi Johnson, Assistant United States Attorneys, were on the brief for appellee. Before FISHER, THOMPSON, and MCLEESE, Associate Judges. MCLEESE, Associate Judge: Appellant Tyrone Wade challenges his convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of an unregistered firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. Mr. Wade argues that the trial court erroneously denied his motions to suppress evidence, that the evidence was 2 insufficient to support his convictions, and that the trial court erroneously imposed a three-year mandatory minimum sentence. We affirm. I. Before trial, Mr. Wade moved to suppress certain tangible evidence as obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment and certain identification evidence as the result of an unduly suggestive pretrial identification procedure. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing on the motions. Viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court’s rulings, the evidence at the hearing was as follows. At approximately 3:30 p.m. on October 8, 2015, an anonymous 911 caller reported a man with a gun in his waist walking in the 1200 block of 7th Street NW. The caller described the man as a black male wearing a navy blue shirt, a tan hat, and blue jeans, walking with another black male wearing a light green shirt. When police officers responded, they saw Mr. Wade, who matched the 911 caller’s description of the man with the gun, walking with another man who matched the description of the gunman’s companion. The two men were walking about a block away from the location provided by the 911 caller. The officers pulled their police cruiser alongside the two men, who both began running. One of the officers, Officer Christopher Brown, chased Mr. Wade. While running, Mr. Wade 3 discarded items from his hands, including what appeared to be a cellphone. Mr. Wade continued running, with his right arm bent and his hand near his waist area. During the chase, Officer Brown briefly lost sight of Mr. Wade when Mr. Wade ran around a shed. Officer Brown regained sight of Mr. Wade soon thereafter and eventually apprehended Mr. Wade on the other side of the shed near a fence. Officer Brown handcuffed Mr. Wade and patted Mr. Wade down, but did not feel a gun. Meanwhile, a civilian eyewitness, Manuel Torres, reported to the police that he had seen a black male with an ...

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