Clifford Thomas took a plea deal on a firearm possession charge and was sentenced to five years in prison.
TRENTON -- An appeals court on Friday affirmed the arrest of a Trenton man who ran from pursuing police in 2012 and threw a handgun into a sewer grate.
Clifford Thomas took a plea deal on a firearm possession charge after a trial judge in Mercer County denied his motion to suppress the evidence and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Clifford Thomas Trenton police officer Sgt. Brian Suschke and Mercer County Prosecutor's Detective Michael Fiabane arrested Thomas just minutes after Suschke received a call from a citizen tipping him to an armed male at Hamilton and Ardmore avenues with a description, the decision says
As Thomas fled the officers, they both heard a distinctive sound of metal hitting metal and concrete, and Fiabane saw Thomas discard the gun, the decision says.
In an appeal, Thomas' lawyer argued the officers performed a warrantless search on Thomas, they lacked a Constitutional basis to stop him and running from the police was not grounds to arrest him.
An appeals panel did not agree.
"The totality of the circumstances combined to create reasonable and articulable suspicion justifying the investigatory stop of defendant, making seizure of the discarded handgun seen by Fiabane in defendant's possession, and defendant's arrest, lawful," the court wrote.
Thomas, 29, is currently in a state prison halfway house and scheduled to be released next year.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.