United States v. Victor Stokes, No. 22-2110 (8th Cir. 2023)
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Defendant conditionally pled guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition. The district court sentenced Defendant to 48 months of imprisonment. Defendant appealed the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress. The parties agree there are two issues on appeal, whether the officer had reasonable suspicion to (1) conduct a Terry stop on Defendant and (2) command Defendant to stand for a frisk.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed, holding that because Defendant only challenged the district court’s legal conclusions, there is no basis to disturb the district court’s findings of fact. The court further reasoned that Defendant’s answers to the officer’s questions about why he was at the salvage lot at 3:00 a.m. were odd because he was waiting at the salvage lot in the middle of the night so he could inquire about a stolen car in the morning and Defendant had not reported it stolen. Under a totality of the circumstances analysis, these facts were sufficient to provide the officer with reasonable suspicion to conduct a Terry stop.
Further, while Defendant argued the bulge in his pockets was insufficient to justify the frisk, under the totality of the circumstances, it was reasonable for the officer to fear for his safety. Therefore, the court concluded that the officer had reasonable suspicion to justify the attempted frisk.
Court Description: [Grasz, Author, with Colloton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. Given the totality of the circumstances, the police officer had reasonable suspicion to conduct a Terry stop; and similarly, the officer had reasonable suspicion, given the facts and his concerns for his safety, to conduct an attempted frisk.
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