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COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Record No. 1830-24-1
MARQUIS DONTE CHISHOLM, JR.
v.
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Causey, White and Frucci
Argued by videoconference
Opinion Issued June 16, 2026*
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT NEWS
Matthew Hoffman, Judge1
Catherine A. Tatum, Senior Trial Attorney (Newport News Public Defender’s Office, on briefs), for
appellant.
David A. Stock, Senior Assistant Attorney General (Jason S. Miyares,2 Attorney General, on brief),
for appellee.
MEMORANDUM OPINION BY
JUDGE KIMBERLEY SLAYTON WHITE
INTRODUCTION
This appeal concerns the limits of reasonable suspicion under the Fourth Amendment
when police detain an individual based on lawful conduct and broad contextual considerations.
Officers detained the appellant, Marquis Donte Chisholm, Jr., after observing what they believed
to be a bulge near his waistband that appeared to be a firearm. They encountered him in an area
described as high crime and interpreted ordinary nervousness and slow backward steps as
*
This opinion is not designated for publication. See Code § 17.1-413(A).
1
Judge Tyneka L.D. Flythe presided over the motion to suppress hearing. Judge
Matthew Hoffman accepted appellant’s conditional guilty plea providing for this limited appeal.
2
Jay C. Jones succeeded Jason S. Miyares as Attorney General on January 17, 2026.Jump to an indexed page (25 of 25)