United States v. Merton A. Chase

Merton Arthur Chase was tried before a jury and convicted of transporting a stolen motor vehicle across state lines, in violation of the Dyer Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2312 (1964). On this appeal he first contends that the trial court erred in denying his pretrial motion to suppress evidence consisting of an oral statement and papers misidentifying himself given to a law enforcement officer while being questioned at a service station, and in allowing the officer to repeat those statements in his testimony at the trial.

The officer in question was Doyle Freeman of the Arizona Highway Patrol. On September 21, 1968, he received a radio call from the Holbrook, Arizona Dispatch Center of the Arizona Highway Patrol, to watch for a blue 1968 Ford with Massachusetts license plates which had “run” from a New Mexico State officer. The following afternoon, he and another Arizona Highway Patrol officer were parked along the highway in separate patrol cars near Holbrook, and saw the described vehicle drive by. Turning on their red lights, the two officers gave chase. Defendant pulled into a Shell station and alighted from his car. One of the officers parked his patrol car in front of defendant’s…