STATE v. BRADDY (2026)

WRIT GRANTED; REMAND WITH INSTRUCTIONS

Relator, the State of Louisiana, seeks review of the trial court's July 22, 2026 ruling granting Defendant, Brian Braddy's, motion to suppress. The testimony and video-evidence introduced at the hearing on the motion to suppress reflect that the officer observed Defendant engage in behavior indicative in his experience of a hand-to-hand transaction. “[A]n officer's observation of a hand-to-hand transaction provides probable cause to arrest” and “a search incidental to that arrest is permissible and requires no further justification.” State v. Stevenson, 19-0627, pp. 6-7 (La. App. 4 Cir. 7/26/19), 363 So.3d 498, 503-04, citing State v. Gayton, 13-1613, pp. 13 (La. App. 4 Cir. 12/10/14), 156 So.3d 738, 748 and United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 235, 94 S. Ct. 467, 477, 38 L. Ed. 2d 427 (1973); see also State v. Smith, 11-0312, p. 1 (La. 2/21/11), 56 So.3d 232, 233 (per curiam). Accordingly, we grant the writ, reverse the trial court's judgment granting the motion to suppress, and we remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings.