Opinion ID: 433446
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Attempted Search.

Text: 35 Finally, Ilazi contends that during the second investigatory stop, Agent Lewis illegally attempted to search his boot. 4 Specifically, Ilazi argues that when Lewis reached for his boot, he lacked the reasonable fear for his own safety or that of others required by Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), to justify a protective frisk. We need not address this particular argument because we uphold the attempt to search Ilazi's boot as incident to his lawful arrest. 36 A search is valid as incident to an arrest even if it is conducted before the actual arrest, provided that (1) the arrest and the search are substantially contemporaneous, and (2) probable cause to arrest existed before the search. Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98, 111, 100 S.Ct. 2556, 2564, 65 L.Ed.2d 633 (1980); United States v. Costello, 604 F.2d 589, 590-91 (8th Cir.1979). Here, the arrest followed quickly on the heels of the challenged search. Rawlings v. Kentucky, supra. Agent Lewis arrested Ilazi as soon as he jumped back to prevent Lewis from consummating the search. The only question, therefore, is whether probable cause to arrest existed before the attempted search. 37 Probable cause to make a warrantless arrest depends upon 38 whether, at the moment the arrest was made,    the facts and circumstances within [the arresting officers'] knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information were sufficient to warrant a prudent [person] in believing that the [suspect] had committed or was committing an offense. 39 United States v. Matthews, 603 F.2d 48, 51 (8th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1019, 100 S.Ct. 674, 62 L.Ed.2d 650 (1980), quoting Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964). The cumulative effect of all the facts and circumstances at the time of the arrest determines probable cause. United States v. Matthews, supra, 603 F.2d at 51. 40 Based on the cumulative effect of all the evidence in the record, we conclude that probable cause to arrest Ilazi existed when he refused to explain the bulge on the inside of his boot. Everything the agents learned, from the time Ilazi first aroused their suspicions with behavior characteristic of a cocaine user, confirmed those suspicions--his odd gait as if concealing something in his boots and in his pants, his quick round trip between Anchorage and West Palm Beach, his nervousness, and his response to Pinjoli's furtive signal. Against this backdrop, the agents noticed an unusual bulge on the inside of Ilazi's boot. When asked, Ilazi refused to explain this bulge. At this point, we think the information sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that [Ilazi]    was committing an offense. United States v. Matthews, supra. See United States v. Elsoffer, 671 F.2d 1294, 1299 (11th Cir.1982) (where the unusual size and shape of a bulge and its abnormal position alone provided probable cause). By the time Agent Lewis reached for Ilazi's boot, the agents had probable cause to arrest and, therefore, the attempt to search was justified as a search incident to a lawful arrest. 41 In concluding as we do, we are ever mindful that a search incident to an arrest may not precede the arrest and yet serve as part of its justification. See Sibron v. New York, 392 U.S. 40, 63, 88 S.Ct. 1889, 1902, 20 L.Ed.2d 917 (1967). Ilazi's response to the attempt by Agent Lewis to search his boot is in no way relevant to our inquiry into probable cause. 42