United States v. Samilton

56 F.4th 820

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.David Ashard SAMILTON, Defendant - Appellant.

United States of America, Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.David Ashard Samilton, Defendant - Appellant.

Nos. 21-6149

No. 21-6150

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

FILED December 20, 2022

Submitted on the briefs:^*

Susan M. Otto, Federal Public Defender and Laura K. Deskin, Research & Writing Specialist, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on the brief for Defendant – Appellant.

Robert J. Troester, U.S. Attorney and David R. Nichols, Jr, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on brief for Plaintiff – Appellee.

Before MATHESON, CARSON, and ROSSMAN, Circuit Judges.

MATHESON, Circuit Judge.

Patrol Sergeant Mark Garrett seized a firearm from underneath David Samilton's passenger seat during a vehicle stop. Based on the firearm, (1) a jury convicted Mr. Samilton of being a felon in possession, and (2) the district court revoked his supervised release in an unrelated case. On appeal in both cases, Mr. Samilton challenges the district court's denial of his motion to suppress the firearm.¹ Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual History²

On September 13, 2020, the Oklahoma City Police Department received a 911 call from a Rodeway Inn hotel clerk. The clerk said a four-door, dark-colored car had been in the parking lot for several hours, and a Black female driver and a white, bearded male passenger were sitting inside. The clerk also said the man had a "pistol[ ] in his hand and was waving it around inside the car," ROA, Vol. III at 10, and had been knocking on hotel room doors. The clerk did not believe the man was a hotel guest.

Sergeant Garrett and several other officers³ were dispatched to the scene. At the suppression hearing, Sergeant Garrett said the Rodeway Inn was located in a high crime area. When he worked there, he sometimes encountered three to five armed robberies per week. The 911 caller's report about the male passenger's open display of a firearm "[wa]s very uncommon" and troubling to him. Id . at 13.

1. Initial Search

When Sergeant Garrett arrived, he found a black sedan in the hotel parking lot with a Black female driver and a bearded male passenger.⁴ He activated his body camera and approached the sedan. Bodycam footage at 00:08-00:33. While walking toward the car, he observed the passenger make "furtive movements ... towards the floorboard area towards his knees, multiple hand movements [sic]," which he interpreted as "trying to hide a firearm." ROA, Vol. III at 22. He also heard a noise that sounded "like a firearm or a magazine that goes into a firearm had been thrown from the vehicle and hit the pavement." Id . at 19.

Sergeant Garrett opened the passenger door and asked what had been tossed out the window. Bodycam footage at 00:42-00:44. The passenger denied tossing anything, id . at 00:44-00:46, and showed Sergeant Garrett a hotel room key and his driver's license, id. at 01:26-01:29, which identified him as David Samilton. When Sergeant Garrett asked whether he had any guns, Mr. Samilton said no. Id . at 01:29-01:31. After receiving consent, Sergeant Garrett frisked Mr. Samilton but did not find a weapon. Id . at 01:33-01:54. Sergeant Garrett then walked Mr. Samilton to his police vehicle and directed him to sit in the back seat. Id . at 02:08-02:40.

In the police vehicle, Sergeant Garrett asked Mr. Samilton whether there was a gun in the sedan. Id. at 02:50-51. Mr. Samilton gave evasive responses—he said "you checked me" and "I don't have no gun," but avoided stating directly whether there was a gun in the vehicle. Bodycam footage at 02:52-03:05. Finally, Sergeant Garrett said: "[L]isten to the question I'm asking. Is there a gun inside that car?" Id . at 03:08-03:13. Mr. Samilton responded, "no, not to my knowledge." Id . at 03:12-03:14.

Sergeant Garrett testified that this interaction made him suspicious. In his experience,⁵ individuals who are authorized to carry firearms will freely disclose the presence of a firearm, but individuals who carry firearms illegally often refuse to admit the presence of a firearm and "separate[ ] themselves from wherever the gun is." ROA, Vol. III at 21-22.

After leaving Mr. Samilton in the police vehicle, Sergeant Garrett returned to the sedan and asked the female driver whether there was a gun in the car. Bodycam footage at 03:32-03:33. After prevaricating, she said there was a gun "on the right side of the door," referring to the passenger side of the car. Bodycam footage at 04:13-04:17. Sergeant Garrett asked if he could look in the car, and the driver said, "I don't care."

Id . at 04:20-04:22. Sergeant Garrett then examined the area near the passenger seat and promptly found a live 9-millimeter round on the floor. See ROA, Vol. III at 26-27. For the next several minutes, Sergeant Garrett inspected the passenger seat and the area outside the sedan. See bodycam footage at 04:22-05:55. He found no gun.

2. Extended Search

Sergeant Garrett next walked back to the police vehicle and asked Mr. Samilton where he tossed the gun. Id . at 06:03-06:06. Mr. Samilton again denied disposing of a gun. Id . at 06:07-06:21. Sergeant Garrett continued inspecting the area around the sedan and the interior of the car. Id . at 06:31-08:06.

About eight minutes into the stop, Sergeant Garrett returned to the police vehicle, placed Mr. Samilton in handcuffs, and frisked him again, but did not find a firearm. Id . at 08:16-10:04. More searching ensued as Sergeant Garrett once again examined the interior of the sedan and the surrounding area. Id . at 10:50-12:30.

After again finding no firearm, Sergeant Garrett began to enter Mr. Samilton's and his female companion's information into a police database. Id . at 12:43. He also asked Mr. Samilton whether he was a felon, and Mr. Samilton confirmed that he was. Id . at 12:49-52.

3. Final Search

After he finished entering Mr. Samilton's information, about nineteen minutes into the stop, Sergeant Garrett resumed searching for the firearm. Id . at 18:59. Shortly thereafter, Sergeant Garrett found a firearm that had been concealed under the passenger seat of the sedan. Id . at 19:34-19:55.

B. Procedural History

A grand jury indicted Mr. Samilton for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He filed a motion to suppress the firearm, arguing that Sergeant Garrett had unreasonably prolonged the traffic stop in violation of the Fourth Amendment.⁶ After holding a hearing, the district court concluded that (1) the traffic stop was justified at its inception and (2) reasonable suspicion supported Sergeant Garrett's decision to extend the stop. The court also found no factual nexus between Mr. Samilton's detention and the seizure of the firearm. It explained that the sedan belonged to the female driver, who consented to the search, so the discovery of the firearm did not result from any alleged violation of Mr. Samilton's rights. The court thus denied Mr. Samilton's motion to suppress the firearm.

The case proceeded to trial, and the jury found Mr. Samilton guilty. The district court sentenced Mr. Samilton to 120 months in prison. The court also revoked his supervised release term on an unrelated offense and imposed an additional 14-month sentence.

II. DISCUSSION

The timeline of Sergeant Garrett's interactions with Mr. Samilton can be divided into three distinct periods, as measured by the bodycam timestamps:

1. Initial search , 00:00 to 05:55— Sergeant Garrett's first encounter with Mr. Samilton and initial search of the vehicle and surrounding area.

2. Extended search , 05:55 to 12:52—Sergeant Garrett's repeated searches of Mr. Samilton's person, the vehicle, and the surrounding area until he learned Mr. Samilton was a felon.

3. Final search , 12:52-19:49—Sergeant Garrett's communications with dispatch and further searches until he found the firearm.

Mr. Samilton does not dispute that reasonable suspicion supported the initial search and the final search. Aplt. Br. at 15-16. He thus focuses on the extended search period, the approximately seven-minute window between (1) Sergeant Garrett's concluding his initial search of the sedan and surrounding area, and (2) his learning that Mr. Samilton was a felon. Id .; bodycam footage at 05:55-12:52.

Mr. Samilton argues that after Sergeant Garrett's initial search failed to produce a firearm, "any reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot had dissipated." Aplt. Br. at 13.⁷ "Once officers found no firearm after a thorough search," Mr. Samilton contends, "he should have been permitted to go on his way." Id . at 17. He argues the district court thereby erred in denying his motion to suppress the firearm. Id. at 14.

A. Standard of Review

"In reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress, we accept the district court's factual findings unless clearly erroneous ...." United States v. Hammond , 890 F.3d 901, 905 (10th Cir. 2018). In conducting our review, we "view the evidence in the light most favorable to the determination of the district court." United States v. Johnson , 43 F.4th 1100, 1107 (10th Cir. 2022) (quotations omitted).

B. Legal Background

1. Investigative Detentions

The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable seizures. U.S. Const. amend. IV.⁸ Evidence collected as part of an unconstitutional seizure is thus generally inadmissible. See Terry v. Ohio , 392 U.S. 1, 29, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968).

"This court has recognized three types of police-citizen encounters: (1) consensual encounters which do not implicate the Fourth Amendment; (2) investigative detentions which are Fourth Amendment seizures of limited scope and duration and must be supported by a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity; and (3) arrests, the most intrusive of Fourth Amendment seizures and reasonable only if supported by probable cause." Hammond , 890 F.3d at 904 (quotations omitted).

The second category—investigative detentions, commonly known as Terry...