United States v. David Allen
2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7920
| 8th Cir. | 2013Background
- Three individuals arrested in Bryant, Arkansas for attempting to pass counterfeit checks; a Comfort Inn receipt tied to a room led to surveillance at the Little Rock hotel.
- Officers observed Darryl Brown later identified as David Allen, and found torn-up checks in a discarded bag; Allen rented two rooms and disposed of counterfeit checks.
- A combination printer/scanner/copier and other items associated with check forgery were found with Allen’s luggage cart and in the hotel parking lot; Allen and Tangela Dean were arrested; Dean had outstanding warrants.
- An indictment charged Allen with conspiracy to make, utter, and possess counterfeit securities (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 513(a)); a suppression motion was denied at the district court, and Allen pled guilty conditionally to preserve appeal rights.
- The district court adopted the magistrate judge’s findings: probable cause to arrest and searches incident to arrest were lawful, or alternatively, that the evidence would have been inevitably discovered during inventory. Allen appeals the Fourth Amendment rulings.
- This court affirms, holding that probable cause existed for arrest, the car search was lawful incident to arrest, and the luggage-cart evidence would have been inevitably discovered through a proper inventory search.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probable cause for arrest of Allen | Allen; lack of probable cause | Allen; facts showed probability of involvement in counterfeit | Probable cause existed for arrest |
| Lawfulness of search of car incident to arrest | Allen; search exceeded permissible scope | Allen; there was reasonable basis to believe evidence related to the crime could be in the car | Search lawful under Gant and related precedents |
| Inevitable discovery of luggage-cart evidence | Evidence would not have been discovered lawfully | Evidence would have been inevitably discovered via inventory | Evidentiary fruits would have been inevitably discovered; inventory search justified |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Jones, 535 F.3d 886 (8th Cir. 2008) (probable cause for warrantless arrest requires reasonable belief of criminal activity)
- Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366 (U.S. 2003) (probable cause standard for arrests; objective reasonableness)
- Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752 (U.S. 1969) (scope of searches incident to arrest; arrestee’s reach and area within control)
- United States v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (U.S. 2009) (vehicle searches incident to arrest require reasonable belief evidence is in vehicle; expanded)
- Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431 (U.S. 1984) (inevitable discovery rule; police misconduct exception requires independent line of investigation)