Opinion ID: 78298
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Facts Leading to Knight's Arrest and Indictment in State and Federal Court.

Text: On May 15, 2004, officers Craig Schmidt and L.W. Wagaman were performing traffic duties at a public gathering at a park in Atlanta. The officers stopped three men in a blue Chevrolet Impala after they heard loud music emanating from the car and saw that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt. As the officers approached the car, they could smell a strong odor of marijuana. Wagaman also noticed a red cup in the car that appeared to contain an alcoholic beverage. After the driver argued with Wagaman about the traffic stop and having to produce identification, Wagaman asked the driver to exit the car, patted him down, and discovered a firearm on him. Wagaman then handcuffed the driver and escorted him to the police car. While Wagaman was interacting with the driver, Schmidt noticed that Knight, who was seated behind the driver's seat, appeared nervous. Schmidt saw Knight reach into his front pocket, pull out a firearm, and place it on the floorboard. Schmidt drew his firearm and, assisted by Wagaman who had also drawn his firearm, ordered Knight and the other occupant, seated in the front passenger seat of the car, to show their hands. Schmidt removed Knight from the car, put him on the ground, handcuffed him, and patted him down. Knight had on his person ammunition that matched the .22 caliber firearm on the floorboard, marijuana, and money. The officers discovered that the firearm was a .22 caliber Jennings semiautomatic pistol and had a fully loaded clip and a chambered round. Schmidt and Wagaman performed an inventory search of the car and smelled alcohol in the red cup. When Wagaman was transferring Knight from the police car to the DeKalb County Jail, Wagaman replaced Knight's metal handcuffs with flex cuffs. Knight wrenched away from Wagaman, dislocated Wagaman's shoulder, and ran to a nearby fence. Other officers restrained Knight and took him to the DeKalb County Jail. Two days later, Knight escaped during his transfer for a court appearance. Knight was rearrested in 2005. Knight was indicted, separately, in DeKalb County for multiple charges related to the traffic stop and for his later escape from custody. On September 29, 2005, a federal grand jury indicted Knight for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Knight later pleaded guilty in state court to the charges of escape and obstruction of justice and was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment. In deference to the federal indictment, the state court deferred prosecution of the indictment related to the traffic stop.