Police responded to a domestic violence call involving an automobile. Although the person sought had fled on foot, a crowd had gathered around the crime scene. The defendant (Reddick) approached the crime scene with his hands in his pockets. When told by one officer to stop approaching the vehicle he failed to follow instructions and continued to approach the car. The officer then asked another officer to identify him. When Reddick was asked to remove his hands from his pockets, he would comply momentarily but then put his hands back in his pocket. The officer asked him why he was there and why he wouldn’t leave and the answers given were evasive. At this point the officer told him he was going to pat Hester down. The frisk revealed a .38 cal. handgun.
Hester was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hester sought to have the evidence excluded on the basis that his detention and frisk were unlawful. The Eighth Circuit disagreed and held that the facts supported both a Terry Stop and a Terry Frisk.
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