United States v. Stephenson

452 F.3d 1173, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 16315, 2006 WL 1775552
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedJune 29, 2006
Docket05-3165, 05-3172
StatusPublished
Cited by59 cases

This text of 452 F.3d 1173 (United States v. Stephenson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Stephenson, 452 F.3d 1173, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 16315, 2006 WL 1775552 (10th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.

A Kansas state trooper uncovered approximately sixty kilograms of cocaine hidden in a compartment underneath the bed of a truck in which Defendants Gregory Stephenson and Alton Stanley were traveling. A grand jury indicted Defendants on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); and conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. After the district *1175 court denied their respective motions to suppress, Defendants entered conditional pleas of guilty. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2). Defendant Stanley pled guilty to both charges while Defendant Stephenson pled guilty to the possession charge. The district court sentenced them to 54 months and 151 months imprisonment respectively. Defendants then filed separate appeals challenging the denial of their motions to suppress. Stanley also challenges the district court’s calculation of his sentence. We consolidated the two appeals for oral argument and now dispose of them jointly. See Fed. R.App. P. 3(b)(2). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a)(2), and affirm.

I.

The following undisputed facts are taken from the transcript of the suppression hearing at which only the arresting officer testified. On the morning of September 27, 2002, Sergeant Kelly Schneider was patrolling Interstate 70 in Russell County, Kansas, when he observed a Ford F-250 pickup truck traveling eastbound. According to Sergeant Schneider, the truck caught his attention because he saw a “major kink in the vehicle.” The “kink” led Sergeant Schneider to believe the vehicle might have a false compartment. 1 Sergeant Schneider pulled up alongside to get a closer look. He observed a number of discrepancies that heightened his suspicion. Sergeant Schneider testified the bed of the truck was not the same shade of white as the cab. This indicated one of the two had been repainted. Furthermore, the bed was not aligned with the cab, an alteration that in the officer’s experience indicated the existence of a hidden compartment. And the rear fender wells were painted black, which was odd because absent an undercoating, the fender wells are typically painted the same color as the vehicle. Sergeant Schneider also testified he observed too much metal inside the fender well, which indicated altered placement of the bed. Based on his observations, Sergeant Schneider decided to stop the truck and investigate.

When Sergeant Schneider approached the cab of the truck, he noticed a fresh weld between the bed and the cab of the truck. This increased his suspicion of a false compartment because, according to Sergeant Schneider, “there shouldn’t be a weld in there at all.” Sergeant Schneider explained the weld could not have been made unless the bed of the truck had been removed. Sergeant Schneider testified that at that point he knew, based on his experience with “other compartments like this,” that the truck had a false compartment. Sergeant Schneider told the driver Stanley and his passenger Stephenson that he believed the bed of the truck had a false compartment. Sergeant Schneider ordered Defendants to stand in front of the truck. Sergeant Schneider then walked to the rear of the truck, dropped the tailgate, and performed what he calls a “two-finger test” to determine the depth of the truck’s bed. He placed one finger on top of the truck’s bed and one finger from his other hand underneath the truck’s bed to determine the width between the two fingers. Sergeant Schneider testified to the presence of a three inch space between the two fingers. This was significantly larger than *1176 the space required by the sheet of metal on the truck’s bed as originally manufactured. Sergeant Schneider explained that “there should be one sheet of metal in the bed of that truck and ... your finger[s] should ... touch.... When you take one finger on top and one on the bottom there’s an actual three-inch void in there which indicated to me that the compartment was there.” Based on his belief that the truck contained a false compartment and his experience that most false compartments contain narcotics, Sergeant Schneider placed Defendants under arrest. Sergeant Schneider retrieved a drug canine from the patrol car and deployed him around the truck. The canine alerted. Discovery of the cocaine soon followed. Based on factual findings consistent with the foregoing, the district court denied the Defendants’ motions to suppress.

II.

Defendants raise numerous challenges to the district court orders denying their respective motions to suppress. When reviewing such orders, we consider the totality of the circumstances. We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government and accept the court’s factual findings unless clearly erroneous. See United States v. Rosborough, 366 F.3d 1145, 1148 (10th Cir.2004). The witnesses’s credibility and the weight to be given evidence, together with all inferences and conclusions drawn from the evidence, are matters within the province of the district judge. Id. The ultimate determination of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment, however, is a question of law renewable de novo. Id.

A.

Defendant Stephenson first argues the district court erred in finding Sergeant Schneider had reasonable suspicion to initiate a traffic stop. He contends an officer’s mere observation of modifications to a vehicle is, in the absence of other suspicious factors, insufficient to create a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and thus justify the stop. Traffic stops are seizures within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment analogous to investigative detentions. See United States v. Bradford, 423 F.3d 1149, 1156 (10th Cir.2005). The principles governing investigative detentions outlined in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), govern the lawfulness of traffic stops. See United States v. Holt, 264 F.3d 1215, 1228 (10th Cir.2001). Under Terry, an investigative detention is proper when the detaining officer has a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity may be afoot. See United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273, 122 S.Ct. 744, 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002).

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Bluebook (online)
452 F.3d 1173, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 16315, 2006 WL 1775552, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-stephenson-ca10-2006.