In U.S. v. Lindsey, No. 05-11273 (March 27, 2007), the Court (2-1, Barkett, J., dissenting), the court affirmed the conviction and 300-month sentence of a defendant convicted of being a felon in possession of one or more rounds of ammunition.
The Court affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress, finding that there was sufficient reasonable suspicion of criminal behavior to justify the defendant’s detention. The police received a tip from a person who identified himself as "Davis" reporting that four black males were loading guns and putting them in a large white SUV parked at a gas station across from a bank. The police had been investigating a series of armed bank robberies by three or four blacks who entered banks with assault weapons and drove SUV-type vehicles. The police went to the scene and saw a white Ford SUV parked behind the gas station, with four black occupants, which moved when a police vehicle came into view. The police shouted to the individuals to get on the ground. Police converged. The defendant was arrested.
The Court distinguished Florida v. J.L., 120 S.Ct. 1375 (2000), finding that the police here had more than an inchoate and unparticularized suspicion based on an anonymous tip. The tip was consistent with an ongoing investigation. Further, the movement of the SUV when the police vehicle came into view gave rise to further suspicion.
The Court further found that probably cause supported the defendant’s subsequent arrest. After the police had detained the four occupants of the SUV, an armored car pulled up to the bank, and guards loaded money into it. The four men were convicted felons. Peering through the tinted windows the SUV, police saw what they believed was a rifle bag.
The Court further rejected defendant’s challenge to the search of the vehicle, noting the applicability of the automobile exception to the warrant requirement.
The Court found no Brady violation in the destruction of a fingerprint card which, the police claimed, contained no valuable information.
Finally, the Court affirmed the district court’s admission of uncharged criminal activity, namely defendant’s plan to rob a bank, at trial. This evidence was "inextricably intertwined" with the charged conduct.
Finally, the Court found no error in the 300-months sentence reliance on uncharged criminal activity, or on prior convictions.
