Probable cause is defined as a condition which "is the sum total of layers of information and synthesis of what police have heard, know, or observed as trained officers" (from Smith v. U.S. 1949 establishing the experienced police officer standard) (Probable, 2004). The stop of the vehicle was legal because the officers had probable cause to believe the occupants of the car had been involved in a robbery. They had observed several direct reasons for probable cause. The subjects had fled when the police pulled up behind them, which is a presumption of guilt in evidence law. The case of Wong v. U.S. (1963) covered suspects who run out of doors, and these suspects ran into their car and sped away when the police arrived on the scene, so a presumption of guilt, and thus probable cause, was established.
When the car fled, there was an inevitable chase, which in and of itself is a cause for custodial detention of some sort (Probable, 2004). Although furtive movements alone are not probable cause, the occupants of the car, looked, according to the officers, like deer caught in the headlights, which added to the suspicion. There was observation of real evidence in that the police officers saw the loaded magazine clips in plain view on the back seat of the car. When questioned after the vehicle was stopped, the occupants gave improbable answers, contradicting each other, which can trigger subsequent police inquiry and action.
The suspects were loitering in a high crime area, known for drug deals and drive-by shootings. There were mostly abandoned buildings in the immediate vicinity. Although this is not sufficient on its own to constitute probable cause, the totality of events: presence in a high-crime area; furtive movements; flight; conflicting answers; presence of possible stolen goods in the car - give probable cause when taken together (Probable, 2004). As to the seizure of goods from the suspects' car, probable cause o...