United States v. Charles, No. 14-1530 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseA frightened woman called 911, stating that she was in her car in a narrow alley when another driver blocked her exit, got out of his car, was approaching in a menacing manner, screaming obscenities, and had displayed a gun. A Chicago police officer responded and saw a car parked at the entrance to the alley. The driver (Charles) emerged. He matched the caller’s description, so the officer frisked him. Finding nothing, the officer searched the car and discovered a loaded handgun. Charles was indicted for possessing a firearm as a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). Long after the pretrial-motion deadline lapsed, Charles moved to suppress the gun. Days later, Charles requested a bench trial. Over Charles's objection, the judge held a combined suppression hearing and bench trial, admitted the gun, and found Charles guilty. Before sentencing Charles changed counsel several times and filed multiple motions. The case was transferred to a new judge, who agreed that the gun should have been suppressed, but found that Charles would have been convicted without the gun in evidence. Charles was sentenced to 15 years. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. The suppression motion was properly denied. The officer had probable cause to search Charles’s car for a gun based on the caller’s report and his own observations.
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