State of West Virginia, Plaintiff Below, Appellee v. Gail B. Stuart, Jr., Defendant Below, Appellant

Summary

The West Virginia Supreme Court held that police officers need only reasonable suspicion, not probable cause, to make an investigatory stop of a vehicle, expressly overruling State v. Meadows to the extent it required probable cause. The court further held that an anonymous tip alone cannot establish reasonable suspicion, but may be relied upon when corroborated by independent police work; here, the tip's detailed description of the vehicle, combined with the officers' observation of the matching car traveling unusually slowly at 1:00 a.m., justified the stop. The court also rejected the defendant's due process challenge to the State's destruction of the dispatcher audiotape and the stop videotape, finding the claims waived and the alleged inconsistencies non-exculpatory. The conviction and sentence were affirmed.