D.D.B. v. State, 2026 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 11 (Ala. Ct. App. 2026)

The Alabama Criminal Appeals Court reversed a delinquency adjudication involving possession of a firearm, finding that evidence of the firearm should have been suppressed in light of the illegal stop that took place when the police turned on his vehicle’s emergency lights without reasonable suspicion.

The court stated in relevant part: “We hold that Cpl. Seibert lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop of D.D.B. Although he conceded that D.D.B.’s vehicle was parked legally on a public residential street, Cpl. Seibert used “‘a show of authority'” when he turned on his patrol vehicle’s emergency lights and pulled his vehicle behind D.D.B.’s vehicle. Williams, 716 So. 2d at 754 (citations omitted).”