Court Opinion

ID: 9393949
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-11 18:01:34.658267+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:56.356236
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-20173        Document: 00516747050             Page: 1      Date Filed: 05/11/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________                              United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit

                                      No. 22-20173
                                                                                       FILED
                                                                                     May 11, 2023
                                    Summary Calendar
                                    ____________                                 Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                      Clerk
   United States of America,

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Jonas Terry,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Southern District of Texas
                              USDC No. 4:19-CR-790-1
                     ______________________________

   Before King, Higginson, and Willett, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
         Jonas Terry was found guilty after a bench trial of possession of a
   firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a machinegun, in violation of
   18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), (o)(1), and 924(a)(2). The district court sentenced
   Terry within the guidelines range to concurrent terms of 115 months of
   imprisonment and three years of supervised release.

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-20173      Document: 00516747050           Page: 2    Date Filed: 05/11/2023

                                     No. 22-20173

          Terry appeals the denial of his motion to suppress the evidence found
   in his vehicle following a traffic stop. We review the district court’s factual
   findings with respect to a motion to suppress evidence for clear error and the
   legality of police conduct de novo, viewing the evidence in the light most
   favorable to the prevailing party. United States v. Pack, 612 F.3d 341, 347 (5th
   Cir.), opinion modified on denial of reh’g, 622 F.3d 383 (5th Cir. 2010).
          Testimony established that prior to the stop, officers had information
   that Terry was involved in narcotics transaction and had just engaged in what
   appeared to be drug related activities. Upon being stopped for the traffic
   violation, Terry immediately exited his vehicle, locked it, and walked away
   from the vehicle, contradicting the officers’ commands to get back in the car.
   Terry possessed large amounts of cash in small denominations consistent
   with drug dealing, carried a small pocketknife with what appeared to be
   narcotics residue, and several rocks of what appeared to be crack cocaine
   were on the ground near the driver’s side door. Based on the officers’
   experience, inferences, and deductions about this cumulative evidence,
   probable cause existed that Terry’s vehicle contained drugs. See United
   States v. Henry, 37 F.4th 173, 176-77 (5th Cir. 2022); United States v.
   McSween, 53 F.3d 684, 6876 (5th Cir. 1995). Thus, the warrantless search of
   his vehicle was permissible under the automobile exception to the Fourth
   Amendment’s warrant requirement. See United States v. Beene, 818 F.3d 157,
   164 (5th Cir. 2016); United States v. Guzman, 739 F.3d 241, 245-46 (5th Cir.
   2014). There is “no separate exigency requirement.” Maryland v. Dyson,
   527 U.S. 465, 466-67 (1999).
          Terry also appeals his sentence, arguing that the district court erred
   when it enhanced his offense level by four levels under U.S.S.G.
   § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) for using or possessing a firearm in connection with another
   felony offense. We review the district court’s interpretation and application
   of the Guidelines de novo and its fact findings for clear error. United States

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Case: 22-20173      Document: 00516747050           Page: 3    Date Filed: 05/11/2023

                                     No. 22-20173

   v. Trujillo, 502 F.3d 353, 356 (5th Cir. 2007). “A factual finding is not clearly
   erroneous if it is plausible in light of the record as a whole.” United States v.
   Alcantar, 733 F.3d 143, 146 (5th Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks and
   citation omitted).
          Evidence that officers found a digital scale with cocaine residue on it
   in the door pocket of the driver’s door and an automatic firearm underneath
   the driver’s seat, together with the evidence detailed above that supplied
   probable cause to search the car, supports the district court’s application of
   § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B). In light of the unrebutted evidence, the district court’s
   finding that Terry was involved in drug trafficking offenses was plausible in
   light of the record as a whole. See Alcantar, 733 F.3d at 146-48; Trujillo, 502
   F.3d at 357; § 2K2.1, comment. (n.14(B)(ii)). Terry’s unsupported assertion
   that the cocaine he possessed was a user quantity only does not demonstrate
   clear error in the district court’s plausible contrary inference. See United
   States v. Juarez, 626 F.3d 246, 251 (5th Cir. 2010). Thus, the district court’s
   application of § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) was not clearly erroneous. See Alcantar, 733
   F.3d at 146.
          The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

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