People v. McGee.

2026 CO 14. No. 25SA198. Probable Cause—Warrantless Arrest—Sufficient Specificity.

March 9, 2026

In this interlocutory appeal, the supreme court considered whether a suspect’s description lacked sufficient specificity to establish probable cause for McGee’s warrantless arrest. Probable cause requires that the description used to arrest a suspect be sufficiently specific to identify the particular person who committed the alleged offense and not be so vague as to match innocent persons in the suspect’s vicinity.

In this case, officers relied on a description of a suspect as a male in his 30s riding a scooter in a large park. The supreme court held that, under the totality of the circumstances, the officers lacked probable cause to arrest McGee because the description used to arrest him lacked sufficient specificity to identify him as the suspect. In the court’s view, the description was vague and not sufficiently specific to establish probable cause. Accordingly, the court affirmed the trial court’s order suppressing the fruits of the arrest.