Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-01220/USCOURTS-ca8-05-01220-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Christopher M. Barker
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Richard E. Dorr, United States District Judge for the Western

District of Missouri.

 United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-1220

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the Western

* District of Missouri.

Christopher M. Barker, *

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: October 10, 2005

Filed: February 14, 2006

___________

Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, GRUENDER and BENTON, Circuit Judges.

___________

BENTON, Circuit Judge.

Christopher Michael Barker was convicted of possession of stolen firearms and

being a felon in possession of firearms. Barker appeals the district court's1

 denial of

his motion to suppress evidence of the firearms. Finding that the evidence was

lawfully obtained, this court affirms.

Appellate Case: 05-1220 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/14/2006 Entry ID: 2009623
-2-

I.

On June 12, 2003, Springfield police officer Kurtis Schmidt was dispatched to

a motel. When he arrived, motel employee Jim Williams reported that he had

observed two men unloading "four to six" long rifles into motel room 147. Williams

also said he overheard one of them talking on a cell phone. Although Williams was

not sure what he was saying, Williams did believe he was discussing a meeting.

After officer John Brewer arrived at the motel, the two officers—in

uniform—approached room 147. Officer Schmidt crouched behind a vehicle in the

parking lot, his handgun drawn at "low ready." Brewer knocked on the door. No one

responded. Schmidt asked dispatch to telephone the room. The phone inside the

room rang. No one answered. At some point, the curtain moved and a male—later

identified as defendant Barker—looked out the window. 

Although the district court found the evidence contradictory as to how much

time elapsed—Brewer says a few seconds, Schmidt guesses between 3 to 10

minutes—Barker eventually opened the door. Brewer told him to come outside and

to keep his arms away from his body and not make any sudden movements. Brewer's

gun was drawn and was "down to my side, kind of down behind my leg."

As Barker exited the room, another man, later identified as Shane Logan, came

out behind him, hesitated, and then ran away. Brewer ran after him; Schmidt stayed

with Barker. Brewer apprehended Logan and brought him back to the front of the

motel room. Brewer asked Logan if he had been convicted of any crimes, and he

admitted that he had. Brewer then asked Logan if he was a convicted felon, which he

also admitted.

Appellate Case: 05-1220 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/14/2006 Entry ID: 2009623
-3-

Schmidt then performed a protective sweep of the motel room. He observed

rifles, and other items, including compact discs, DVDs, hunting paraphernalia, twoway radios, and cash. Schmidt told Barker and Logan they were being detained, and

gave them Miranda warnings.

 Logan consented to a search of the room. Nine long guns and a pistol were

recovered. Barker consented to a search of his vehicle. A handgun was found there.

Barker was charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and possessing

stolen firearms. He moved to suppress evidence of the firearms. After a hearing, the

magistrate recommended denying the motion. Barker objected. The district court

overruled the objection and accepted the magistrate's recommendation.

This court reviews the denial of a motion to suppress de novo, and the

underlying factual determinations for clear error, giving due weight to the inferences

of the district court and law enforcement officials. United States v. Coleman, 349

F.3d 1077, 1083 (8th Cir. 2003). This court will uphold the district court's decision

on the motion to suppress if, on review of the record, "any reasonable view of the

evidence supports" the district court's decision. United States v. Bloomfield, 40 F.3d

910, 913 (8th Cir. 1994) (en banc)

II.

As an alternative basis to admit evidence of the firearms, the district court

concluded that the encounter at the motel-room door was a lawful stop because the

officers had reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1,

27 (1968). If the officers had reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, they properly

stopped and briefly detained Barker at the door. See id.

Appellate Case: 05-1220 Page: 3 Date Filed: 02/14/2006 Entry ID: 2009623
-4-

In determining whether the officers had reasonable suspicion, there is not a

“neat set of legal rules." United States v. Bailey, 417 F.3d 873, 877 (8th Cir. 2005),

quoting Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 695-96 (1996). This court examines

the "totality of the circumstances" to determine if the officers had a “particularized

and objective basis for suspecting legal wrongdoing." United States v. Arvizu, 534

U.S. 266, 273 (2002); see also United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-418 (1981).

The observations of the officers are considered “as a whole, rather than as discrete and

disconnected occurrences." United States v. Poitier, 818 F.2d 679, 683 (8th Cir.

1987).

A reasonable view of the evidence supports the district court's conclusion that

the officers had reasonable suspicion to conduct the Terry stop. Informant Williams

told Schmidt that he saw two men unload several firearms into a motel room and that

he overheard them planning a meeting. Williams "came forward personally to give

information that was immediately verifiable at the scene," thereby imparting veracity

to his report. See Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 146-147 (1972). Schmidt

testified he knew that a lot of criminal activity takes place in the motel. The district

court found that, because it was June in a metropolitan area, the officers could

reasonably conclude that the men were not hunting. When Brewer knocked on the

door, no one answered. Dispatch called the room, but still no one came to the door.

Thus, by the time Barker finally answered the door, the officers had reasonable

suspicion to stop Barker at the door. See United States v. Watts, 7 F.3d 122, 124 (8th

Cir. 1993) (police officers had reasonable suspicion to stop a van in a residential area

after a citizen reported that men were moving items, including long guns, from his

neighbor's apartment into the van). 

Appellate Case: 05-1220 Page: 4 Date Filed: 02/14/2006 Entry ID: 2009623
-5-

Barker cites this court's decision in United States v. Conner, 127 F.3d 663, 665

(8th Cir. 1997). Footnote 3 of that case says that the Terry reasonableness standard

does not apply to an officer's command to open a motel room door, where the officer

controls the situation. Id. at 666 n.3. The critical difference here is that the district

court found that officer Brewer requested the occupants to come outside, spoke in a

calm, conversational manner, and did not announce himself as a police officer. See

id. n.2 (officers "knocked on the door longer and more vigorously than would an

ordinary member of the public," which was "loud enough to awaken a guest in a

nearby room and to cause another to open her door," and the officers "identified

themselves as police and demanded [suspect] to 'open up'"). Conner is inapposite to

this case.

Barker argues that the officers did not have reasonable suspicion, because none

of the acts observed was criminal. True, Missourians have the state constitutional

right to keep and bear arms. See Mo. Const., art. I, § 23; see also United States v.

Brown, 408 F.3d 1016, 1018 (8th Cir. 2005). However, this court must consider the

circumstances through the eyes of the officers, because they are “trained to cull

significance from behavior that would appear innocent to the untrained observer."

Poitier, 818 F.2d at 683; see also Cortez, 449 U.S. at 418 (evidence "must be seen and

weighed not in terms of library analysis by scholars, but as understood by those versed

in the field of law enforcement"). This court must also defer to the district court's

decision, upholding it if supported by "any reasonable view of the evidence."

Bloomfield, 40 F.3d at 913. While no specific act here amounts by itself to reasonable

suspicion, the district court's conclusion of reasonable suspicion is supported by the

totality of the circumstances.

Appellate Case: 05-1220 Page: 5 Date Filed: 02/14/2006 Entry ID: 2009623
-6-

 III.

The judgment is affirmed.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 05-1220 Page: 6 Date Filed: 02/14/2006 Entry ID: 2009623