Minn. court says hoisting saggy pants of a crime suspect doesn’t count as illegal search

Minn. court says hoisting pants not illegal search

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota court says pulling up the saggy pants of a crime suspect is not an illegal search, even if it turns up a gun.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday came in a case that arose after a drug suspect was stopped by St. Paul police officers.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the man’s jeans fell down when he put his hands up, prompting an officer to hoist up the droopy drawers. In the process, the officer found a gun.

The man was later sentenced to five years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm.

On appeal, his attorney argued the gun was found in an illegal search.

But the appeals court determined the officer had hoisted the pants “presumably to conceal rather than to reveal.”

Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, www.twincities.com