Opinion ID: 2770181
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Suppression Hearing Evidence

Text: On June 11, 2013, at approximately 1:46 a.m., Ray was driving northbound on West 25th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, in a red Dodge Stratus. Two Cleveland police officers patrolling the high-crime area, Officers Brian Middaugh and Michael McNeeley, passed Ray in a marked police car as they drove southbound on West 25th Street. The officers observed that the Dodge Stratus did not have any visible mirrors, a violation of traffic law. Officer Middaugh turned the No. 14-3502 United States v. Ray police car around and followed Ray to investigate further, but he did not activate his lights or siren. There were no other cars in the vicinity. R. 34 Page ID 143–46, 156. At the corner of West 25th Street and Sackett, Ray turned left and drove westbound on Sackett. The officers followed approximately ten to twenty feet behind him to the intersection of West 30th Street and Sackett, which was controlled by a stop sign. As Ray approached the intersection, he drove in the middle of the road, “blew clearly through the stop sign” without touching the brakes, and accelerated as he turned left onto West 30th Street. Having witnessed Ray’s failure to obey the stop sign, Officer Middaugh activated his lights and siren and followed Ray on West 30th Street. Officer McNeeley confirmed that Officer Middaugh did not activate the lights and siren until after Ray failed to obey the stop sign. Id. at 189–90. Ray abruptly stopped his car on the wrong side of West 30th Street adjacent to an apartment building. Officer Middaugh stopped the police car ten to fifteen feet behind him. The scene was illuminated by a streetlight and the police car’s headlights. Id. at 146–51. Officer Middaugh jumped out of the police car and approached the driver’s side of the Dodge Stratus. Ray got out of his car and faced the officer. In that moment, Officer Middaugh could see the top half of a handgun that Ray was holding in his waistband. Officer Middaugh identified himself as a police officer and continuously yelled “gun!” to alert Officer McNeeley that he feared for their safety. Ray took one step forward to avoid his car door and then fled on foot through a lot next to the apartment building. Id. at 151–54. After Ray was apprehended, the police recovered a 9 millimeter Jimenez handgun and a magazine from separate locations on the lot. Ray testified that he first noticed the police car when it passed him moving southbound on West 25th Street. He saw the lights come on as the police car made a u-turn to follow him. -2- No. 14-3502 United States v. Ray When he reached the intersection of West 30th Street and Sackett, he knew the police car was still behind him with its lights on, but he thought the car was heading to a call; he did not think the police were after him. After stopping completely at the intersection of West 30th Street and Sackett, he turned left onto West 30th Street. As he made the turn, the police car followed him, and he heard the siren for three to five seconds as both cars rolled to a stop. He ran from the police because he did not have a driver’s license and he was on probation, but he denied possessing a handgun. He held his cell phone and the waistband of his pants because he did not have a belt. Id. at 163–70, 174–75, 183. Based on this and other evidence, the district court determined that the officers’ testimony was more credible than Ray’s. R. 38 Page ID 235. The court found that Officer Middaugh did not activate the police car’s lights and siren until Ray failed to obey the stop sign, and at that point the officers had probable cause to instigate a traffic stop. Id. The court denied Ray’s motion to suppress the handgun and magazine. Id. at 237.