Opinion ID: 673830
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Eppley Airport Stop

Text: 18 Cleveland Johnson was stopped at the Eppley Airport by police officers, handcuffed, and taken to the airport security office, where he consented to a strip search. Cleveland Johnson was stopped because the police received an anonymous tip indicating that Johnson and his companion would be carrying cocaine. The tip accurately named Cleveland Johnson, described his female companion in great detail, and gave Cleveland Johnson's flight number and passenger information. 19 Cleveland Johnson contends the stop was an arrest without probable cause and thus all evidence flowing from it should be suppressed. The government contends the stop was a mere Terry-type detention. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). The district court held that Cleveland Johnson's seizure was an arrest, see Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 212, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 2256, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979), with probable cause, see Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 245-46, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2335-36, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983), and thus denied the motion to suppress. We agree with the district court that there was probable cause to arrest Cleveland Johnson: The tip was sufficiently detailed and corroborated. See id. at 244-45, 103 S.Ct. at 2335 (It is enough, for purposes of assessing probable cause, that corroboration through other sources of information reduced the chances of a reckless or prevaricating tale.) (internal quotes and citation omitted). We affirm the denial of Cleveland Johnson's motion to suppress evidence flowing from this stop. 20