In 2023, Steven Hicks was stopped by Detective Mitchell Ramsey, an officer in the Baltimore Police Department's Group Violence Unit. After seeing a handgun "physically printing" through Hicks' shirt, Ramsey conducted a stop-and-frisk search, despite Hicks repeatedly telling officers before and during the search that he had a license to carry.
After police found cocaine on his person, Hicks was indicted on multiple drug and firearm offenses. He filed a motion to suppress the evidence, arguing that the arresting officers lacked "probable cause or reasonable suspicion" to stop and frisk him since he was licensed to carry a firearm. The Circuit Court for Baltimore City denied Hicks' motion, after which he pleaded guilty to the charges and received a five-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole.
