United States v. Belton

District Court, District of Columbia·Decided February 15, 2019·No. Criminal No. 2018-0246·Published

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, )

)

v. ) Criminal Action No. 18-246 (RMC)

)

LORENZO BELTON, )

)

Defendant. )

_________________________________ )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

During a routine traffic stop, a veteran police officer observed the end of a knotted plastic bag sticking out of the groin area of the driver’s pants. The officer immediately believed that the plastic bag contained drugs. The question is whether the totality of circumstances provided probable cause to arrest the driver and conduct a search incident to arrest. The government argues yes; the defense vehemently disagrees. Defendant moves to suppress both the drugs and money found on the driver and the handgun and ammunition recovered from the center console in a search of the vehicle.

I. FACTS

On July 4, 2018, shortly after 7:00 pm, Lorenzo Belton was driving a Toyota Avalon when he was observed by Officers Joseph, Ledesma, Murrell, and Green of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to accelerate suddenly on Parkwood Road N.W., D.C. Tr. 69. 1 The officers’ attention was drawn by the sudden burst of speed, but they also noted very dark-tinted windows on the Avalon and followed it in a marked police car. Id.

1 Officer Joseph testified both that when he first saw the Avalon, “it was driving at a high rate of speed,” Tr. 18, and that “it was stationary, then it drove away.” Tr. 19. The difference is immaterial; its speed caught the officers’ attention and contributed to their decision to initiate a traffic stop.

After a few blocks, the officers pulled over the Avalon without incident. Tr. 25-26. Officers Joseph and Ledesma were outfitted with body-worn cameras, which captured audio and video recordings of the subsequent traffic stop. 2 Officer Joseph approached the driver’s side window and spoke with the driver, a man later identified as Lorenzo Belton. MHV-1A at 23:14:04-08. 3 None of the officers knew Mr. Belton or his passenger, Ivan Taylor. Tr. 77-78. Officer Joseph explained to the occupants that they had been pulled over because of the vehicle’s window tint and that Mr. Belton was driving “pretty quick.” MHV-1A at 23:14:14-14:23; see also Tr. 21. Upon request, Mr. Belton handed his license and registration to Officer Joseph, stating that he did not have proof of insurance in the vehicle. MHV-1A at 23:14:23-37. Standing outside the driver’s window and looking down at Mr. Belton, Officer Joseph saw plastic protruding from the waistband of Mr. Belton’s pants, consistent with “the end of [a] sandwich bag.” Tr. 28. 4 The plastic was “coming from his waist under his, like I guess his belly button,” Tr. 28, with the “top portion crumpled.

2 Upon activation of a body-worn camera, the camera retains video, but not audio, for approximately two minutes before activation. Tr. 24. This prior footage from Officer Joseph’s body-worn camera shows the police vehicle driving and making a series of turns as it followed the Avalon. Officer Joseph was seated in the front passenger’s seat. See MHV-1A at 23:12:05- 14:04. 3 Citations to body-worn camera footage reflect the electronic file name as provided to the Court and the footage timestamp, which is based on “Zulu” time—four hours ahead of local time in D.C. Tr. 23-24. The body-worn cameras were clipped to the officers’ vests, at about mid-chest height. Tr. 37-38. 4 Counsel for Mr. Belton argues that Officer Joseph could not have seen any plastic protruding from Mr. Belton’s waistband due to the position of Mr. Belton’s body. This argument builds on Mr. Belton’s asserted weight, height, and stomach size. Tr. 99-101. The Court credits Officer Joseph’s testimony that he saw some plastic material, with the appearance of a knotted sandwich bag, protruding from the center of Mr. Belton’s waist area. The officer’s testimony—and his actions at the time—are entirely consistent. In addition, Mr. Belton’s physique does not really support defense counsel’s argument. See Def.’s Suppl. Ex. 11, Front-View Photograph of Lorenzo Belton [Dkt. 14-10].

Kind of knotted I guess.” 5 Id. Because he could see only a few inches of the plastic bag, the officer could not see what, if anything, it contained. Tr. 31. 6 It was not protruding from pant pockets but from the center of Mr. Belton’s waistband. Id. Based on his training, and his patrol experience in the same neighborhood in prior years, Officer Joseph immediately thought that Mr. Belton had a plastic bag containing drugs hidden in his groin area. Tr. 31 (“I immediately thought it was drugs.”).

After briefly looking at Mr. Belton’s identification, Officer Joseph asked him to step out of the vehicle, so he could not drive away. MHV-1A at 23:14:37-40; Tr. 33. Opening the driver’s door, Officer Joseph said, “You’re not in any trouble right now.” Id. Mr. Belton asked why he needed to get out of the car and Officer Joseph responded, “Because I asked you to. Could you just step out?” MHV-1A at 23:14:40-44. Mr. Belton did so and Officer Joseph reached for and held Mr. Belton’s right wrist with his left hand. MHV-2A at 23:14:52. The officer then asked, “What’s in your pants? I can see you stuffed something in your pants,” as he immediately placed his right hand on Mr. Belton’s stomach and waistband. MHV-1A/MHV-2A at 23:14:50-57. Mr. Belton answered, “I didn’t stuff anything.” MHV-1A/MHV-2A at 23:14:54-55. Officer Joseph said, “I can see the bag right here. What is that?” MHV-1A/MHV- 2A at 23:14:55-57. Mr. Belton said, “See what bag?” MHV-1A/MHV-2A at 23:14:55-56. Officer Joseph responded, “This bag right here. What is that?” MHV-1A/MHV2-A at 23:14:57- 58. During this exchange, Officer Joseph “pushed back” Mr. Belton’s stomach and “grabbed the

5 The plastic is not visible in any of the body-worn camera footage. See, e.g., MHV-1A at 23:14:48-49; MHV-2A at 23:14:50-52. The Court finds this unremarkable, as Officer Joseph’s body-worn camera faced forward from the center of his chest, not downward to view inside the stopped car. Officer Ledesma came from behind Officer Joseph and could not see into the car. MHV-2A at 23:14:40-52. 6 After Officer Joseph demonstrated the length of visible plastic, the Court estimated it to be two to three inches, an estimate neither party contested. See Tr. 30.

plastic,” removing a plastic bag from Mr. Belton’s waistband. Tr. 41. He then said, “Oh, yeah. Cuff him,” MHV-1A/MHV-2A at 23:15:04-05, and Mr. Belton was placed in handcuffs. Officer Joseph acknowledged that he began to touch Mr. Belton’s body before Mr. Belton responded to his first question. Tr. 41.

The plastic bag removed from Mr. Belton’s person contained three separate bags:

one with seven small zips of a white powder substance that field-tested positive for cocaine; one with 18 plastic twists of a rock-like substance that field-tested positive for cocaine (suspected crack); and one that contained 11 zips of a brown powder substance that field-tested positive for heroin. Gov’t’s Opp’n to Def.’s Mot. to Suppress Tangible Evidence (Gov’t’s Opp’n) [Dkt. 7] at 4 n.5. A subsequent search of the Avalon revealed a 9mm semi-automatic handgun loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition in the center console of the vehicle. 7 Id. at 4 n.6; Tr. 43; Gov’t’s Suppl. Exs. 4-5. Approximately $947 in currency was also found on Mr. Belton’s person. Gov’t’s Opp’n at 4 n.6. When Mr. Belton indicated that the items in the Avalon were his, Mr. Taylor, his passenger, was released. Id.

At the motions hearing on this matter, Officer Joseph testified that in his decade of experience drug dealers “usually” keep their “stash” in “[t]heir privates. Some in the front, some keep it in the back, and under their testicles.” Tr. 31-32. He also testified, based on his training and experience, that drug dealers “commonly” use “plastic, plastic bags, plastic sandwich bags,” to hold their drugs. Id. at 32.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

United States v. Belton, (D.D.C. 2019).

United States v. Belton (United States v. Belton) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Agnello v. United States
269 U.S. 20 (Supreme Court, 1925)
Mapp v. Ohio
367 U.S. 643 (Supreme Court, 1961)
Wong Sun v. United States
371 U.S. 471 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Terry v. Ohio
392 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1968)
United States v. Robinson
414 U.S. 218 (Supreme Court, 1973)
United States v. Watson
423 U.S. 411 (Supreme Court, 1975)
Pennsylvania v. Mimms
434 U.S. 106 (Supreme Court, 1977)
Rawlings v. Kentucky
448 U.S. 98 (Supreme Court, 1980)
United States v. Cortez
449 U.S. 411 (Supreme Court, 1981)
New York v. Belton
453 U.S. 454 (Supreme Court, 1981)
Texas v. Brown
460 U.S. 730 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Illinois v. Gates
462 U.S. 213 (Supreme Court, 1983)
United States v. Leon
468 U.S. 897 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Minnesota v. Dickerson
508 U.S. 366 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Ornelas v. United States
517 U.S. 690 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Maryland v. Wilson
519 U.S. 408 (Supreme Court, 1997)
Pennsylvania Bd. of Probation and Parole v. Scott
524 U.S. 357 (Supreme Court, 1998)
Maryland v. Pringle
540 U.S. 366 (Supreme Court, 2003)
Brendlin v. California
551 U.S. 249 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Arizona v. Johnson
555 U.S. 323 (Supreme Court, 2009)