United States v. Ivan Garcia-Lopez
2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 398
| 5th Cir. | 2016Background
- Deputies went to Jaime Garcia’s trailer to serve an arrest warrant for his son, Yonari; Jaime consented to a search for Yonari.
- While searching, Deputy Gomez encountered Ivan Garcia‑Lopez (the defendant) in his locked bedroom; Gomez ordered the door opened and entered.
- Gomez saw two ballistic vests on the bed, handcuffed Garcia‑Lopez, and secured him near the door; Gomez continued searching for Yonari.
- Gomez lifted the mattress and found a short‑barrel shotgun and two rifles; a camouflaged backpack next to the bed contained additional handguns and ammunition.
- Garcia‑Lopez was charged under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); he moved to suppress the firearms seized from his bedroom.
- The district court denied suppression; Garcia‑Lopez pled guilty conditionally, reserved appeal of the suppression ruling, and was sentenced.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of mattress search under the protective‑sweep exception | Government: deputy had reasonable suspicion to sweep under mattress looking for fugitive Yonari | Garcia‑Lopez: it was unreasonable to suspect someone could be hiding under the mattress; no articulable facts justified lifting it | Court: protective sweep justified; reasonable suspicion supported lifting mattress and seizing visible contraband |
| Validity of backpack search (incidental to arrest) | Government: guns in backpack admissible as incident to arrest | Garcia‑Lopez: backpack search exceeded scope without warrant or probable cause | Court: did not decide constitutionality of backpack search because weapons found under mattress were sufficient to support conviction (suppression denial on mattress dispositive) |
Key Cases Cited
- Maryland v. Buie, 494 U.S. 325 (1990) (establishes protective‑sweep exception: limited, cursory search based on reasonable suspicion)
- Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443 (1971) (warrantless searches are presumptively unreasonable subject to specific exceptions)
- United States v. Jackson, 596 F.3d 236 (5th Cir. 2010) (contraband in plain view during lawful sweep is seizable)
- United States v. Mata, 517 F.3d 279 (5th Cir. 2008) (applying Buie in protective‑sweep context)
- United States v. Scroggins, 599 F.3d 433 (5th Cir. 2010) (appellate review standard: uphold suppression rulings if any reasonable view of the evidence supports them)