United States v. Preston, No. 11-2788 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after a pat-down by law enforcement officers revealed that Defendant was in possession of a firearm, drugs, and drug paraphernalia. The district court granted Defendant's motion to suppress, concluding that although this case "was a close call," the officers did not have reasonable suspicion as required for a pat-down search under Terry v. Ohio. The Eighth Circuit reversed the order granting the motion to suppressed, holding that the totality of the circumstances created an objectively reasonable suspicion that Defendant might be armed and dangerous, and thus the pat-down search was constitutionally permissible.
Court Description: Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court erred in suppressing evidence seized during a pat-down search as the officer had objectively reasonable suspicion to believe defendant might be armed and dangerous.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.