Opinion ID: 487491
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Motion to Suppress Items Found In Jacket

Text: 12 Ricks contends that the district court erred by denying his motion to suppress because the jacket was not subject to a legitimate search incident to his arrest. He claims that upon being arrested, the FBI agents conducted a security sweep of the entire apartment to determine that no other persons or weapons were present. In searching the apartment, an agent opened a closet where Ricks's jacket was hanging. The agent asked Ricks if he wanted to take the jacket with him. Ricks, not knowing that an affirmative answer would be construed as a consent to search the jacket's pockets, replied in the affirmative. Ricks claims that he never would have requested the jacket if he had known that by doing so he authorized the FBI agents to search its pockets. He argues that it was obvious that no weapons were in the jacket and that a detailed examination of his private and personal belongings was not required for security purposes. 13 The district court found that the search of Ricks's jacket, leading to the discovery of his wallet, was reasonable because he had no legitimate expectation of privacy, because the search was conducted incident to his arrest, and because the papers listing the names of Massey and Boldin, were discovered during a proper inventory procedure at the FBI office. Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969); United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977). When an arrest is made, the danger always exists that the arrestee will reach for a weapon or attempt to destroy evidence. In Chimel, the Supreme Court held that for personal safety and to prevent the loss of evidence, an arresting officer may conduct a prompt warrantless search of the arrestee and of his grab area. The grab area has been construed to mean the area from within which [the defendant] might gain possession of a weapon or destructible evidence. Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 763, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 2040, 23 L.Ed.2d 685, 694 (1969). In this case, the jacket, while not initially in Ricks's grab area, became subject to a legitimate search when the agent handed it to Ricks, thus placing it within Ricks's grab area. Therefore, we affirm the district court's denial of Ricks's motion to suppress the items seized from his jacket. 14