United States v. Felton

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: May 2, 2023
• Docket: 21-30769
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 21-30769 Document: 00516734381 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/02/2023

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

____________ FILED May 2, 2023 No. 21-30769 Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk

United States of America,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Derrick Felton,

Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 6:18-CR-185 ______________________________

Before Elrod, Ho, and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Derrick Felton appeals the denial of his motion to suppress narcotics evidence. Felton and his co-defendant, Alfonzo Johnlouis, argued that this evidence had been seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment following an illegal search of a parcel by a United States Postal Service letter carrier. In co-defendant Johnlouis’s case, our court upheld the denial of the motion to suppress because we determined that the letter carrier was “not a

_____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 21-30769 Document: 00516734381 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/02/2023

No. 21-30769

government actor to whom the Fourth Amendment applies.” United States v. Johnlouis, 44 F.4th 331, 337 (5th Cir. 2022), cert. denied, 143 S. Ct. 834 (2023). We are bound by the determination in Johnlouis that the letter carrier was not acting as an agent of the government when she inspected the package at issue. 1 Thus, the district court did not err in finding that the letter carrier’s actions did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

_____________________ 1 Felton and his co-defendant both abandoned the argument that the letter carrier was a private person acting in the capacity of a government agent.