Boston police were right to arrest woman and man on gun charges, court says

A male victim provided police with the name of one of the attackers and also alerted police that the four fled in a red car, make and model unknown, the court said. Boston police spotted a red car with four occupants believed to be men, and pulled it over.

The court said the officers, who feared for their own safety, ordered the occupants out of the car. When White, who was a passenger in the car, was searched, police allegedly found a handgun stuffed into his waist. Nunes, who was driving, allegedly admitted she was carrying a firearm in her waist after an officer told her she would be searched and any weapon found, the court said.

Superior Court judge Frank Gaziano threw out the evidence against White and Nunes, ruling that police acted only on a hunch when they stopped the red car. But the Appeals Court disagreed.

“We conclude that the police acted with reasonable suspicion upon the totality of the circumstances,’’ Justice David A. Mills wrote for the court.

“The stopped vehicle was a red car with four occupants, and while the driver actually was female, she appeared to be a man. Both she and one of the passengers wore white head coverings,'' the judge wrote.

"The officers' decision to stop the red car was appropriate in the circumstances,'' the court said.

Both White and Nunes have pleaded not guilty to gun possession charges. Neither has been charged in connection with the armed home invasion, records show.