Opinion ID: 173713
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence from the Ranger

Text: The district court refused to suppress the evidence recovered from the Ford Ranger, holding that the officers had reasonable suspicion that defendant was one of the occupants of the truck and probable cause to arrest him. Defendant contends that the district court erred because the officer stopped the truck “not on a particularized and objective basis,” but instead on a “mere hunch.” Aplt. Br. at 10 (quotation omitted). 2 “In assessing a denial of a motion to suppress, this court accepts the factual findings of the district court, and its determination of witness credibility, unless they are clearly erroneous.” United States v. Chavez, 534 F.3d 1338, 1343 (10th Cir. 2008) (alteration and quotation omitted). “Ultimately, however, this court must review de novo the reasonableness of the government’s action under the Fourth Amendment.” Id. It is the government’s burden to prove reasonableness, but we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government. See id. “[T]he principles set forth in Terry v. Ohio . . . guide this court’s analysis of the reasonableness of the traffic stop. Thus, we examine whether the traffic stop was (1) justified at its inception and (2) reasonably related in scope to the 2 In his reply brief, defendant clarifies that he challenges only the traffic stop, not his arrest. -6- circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.” Id. (citation omitted). Defendant challenges only the first of these factors. To justify “the particular intrusion the police officer must be able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion.” Terry, 392 U.S. at 21. But a police officer may not rely on “his inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or hunch.” Id. at 27. “The conduct of the officers is judged by an objective standard taking the totality of the circumstances and information available to the officers into account.” United States v. Lang, 81 F.3d 955, 965 (10th Cir. 1996). The stop of the Ranger was justified at its inception because the police had probable cause to arrest defendant and a reasonable suspicion that he was an occupant of the truck. Orozco had reported that defendant and Leonardo were involved with drug-trafficking, and officers had corroborated much of Orozco’s information (including the seizure of more than 200 grams of cocaine from Leonardo’s apartment). They knew defendant’s gender, ethnicity, and address. Orozco had stated that defendant drove Leonardo in a gold Impala, and the night of November 20, they had followed a Hispanic male driving a gold Impala (which was registered to defendant’s wife) from Leonardo’s apartment to the Wal-Mart and back, and then to the area of the trailer park where defendant lived. The next morning, the Impala and two other vehicles (including the Ford Ranger that Korber had seen there the previous night) were at the trailer. This -7- information allowed the officers to form a reasonable belief that defendant was in the trailer. Further, in contrast to the several persons who visited for short periods of time (and who were not stopped), defendant and Pelón had not been seen entering the trailer during the surveillance. Defendant’s reliance on the stop of his neighbors to show that the officers’ surveillance was unfocused and inexact is unpersuasive. Korber testified at the suppression hearing that he could not get too close to the trailer, and he only saw the vehicle that he initially stopped as it left the trailer park. But after the erroneous stop, he asked for additional officers to assist. Both Hood and Garrison actually saw defendant and Pelón leave the trailer, and Hood saw them drive away in the Ranger. Under the totality of the circumstances, there was sufficient justification for Garrison, acting under Korber’s instructions, to stop the Ranger. See id. at 965-66 (upholding stop of vehicle where officers reasonably suspected person of criminal activity and believed he was in the vehicle); see also Chavez, 534 F.3d at 1344-48 (holding that officer was objectively justified in making traffic stop where he acted on the strength of other officers’ information of drug-trafficking by passenger). In short, the district court did not err in denying the motion to suppress the evidence from the Ranger.