State in the Interest of H.B

In State in the Interest of H.B., 75 N.J. 243, 381 A.2d 759 (1977) an officer of the Newark Police Department was on duty in a radio car when he received a radio dispatch from police headquarters that a black male wearing a black hat, black leather coat and checkered pants was in a luncheonette with a gun in his possession. 75 N.J. at 248, 381 A.2d 759. The officer proceeded to the area. Ibid. As the officer entered the front door, he saw about fifteen people in the luncheonette. Ibid. He also observed a black male with a black hat, black leather coat, checkered pants and sneakers. The officer walked up to a male occupant, later identified as the defendant, and asked him to stand and put his hands on the wall. The officer patted him down or frisked him, and in doing so felt an object in the right-hand coat pocket which was a gun. Ibid. Chief Justice Hughes, writing for the Court, placed great emphasis on the accuracy of the informer's detailed description of the suspect in upholding the search. The description of H.B.'s person and clothing was "precisely accurate." Ibid. Our Supreme Court concluded that the police action was justified and that the motion to suppress was properly denied. The Court observed that "we intend our decision here, justifying a protective frisk, to be narrow enough to be understood as comprehending only such lethal material, vis-a-vis gambling paraphernalia or narcotic contraband, for instance, although they too would evidence criminal activity." Id. at 251, 381 A.2d 759.