United States v. Luis Mendoza-Torrecialls, 707 F. App'x 816

Mendoza-Torrecialls was stopped by police near a burglary/vehicle-theft scene (a blood-covered nail salon) after officers observed him and an associate (Rea) close to the scene; Rea appeared bloodied.
Officers had reasonable suspicion to detain Mendoza-Torrecialls in connection with the recent theft and burglary.
During the encounter one officer drew his weapon and ordered Mendoza-Torrecialls to the ground; Mendoza-Torrecialls contended this transformed the detention into an arrest without objective justification.
Police searched Mendoza-Torrecialls and seized two firearms; Mendoza-Torrecialls moved to suppress the firearms as fruits of an unlawful arrest/search.
The district court denied the suppression motion; Mendoza-Torrecialls appealed his conviction for possession of a firearm by an alien.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the officers’ display of a weapon and order to the ground converted a detention into an arrest	The weapon draw and command made the encounter an arrest lacking probable cause	Police had reasonable suspicion and facts giving rise to probable cause for arrest; weapon draw did not invalidate that	Court concluded facts known gave probable cause for arrest, so suppression not required
Whether there was probable cause to arrest Mendoza-Torrecialls at the time of the seizure	Probable cause was absent when the officer drew his weapon	Facts (blood, proximity to scene, witness observations, lack of others nearby, Rea’s condition) supported a fair probability of criminal activity	Court held probable cause existed under totality of circumstances
Whether a search incident to arrest justified seizure of firearms	Seizure followed an unlawful arrest and so should be suppressed	If probable cause supported arrest, search incident to arrest made seizure lawful	Court held search incident to arrest lawful because probable cause supported arrest
Whether district court erred in denying suppression motion	Denial was erroneous due to unlawful arrest/search	Denial was proper because probable cause and search-incident doctrine applied	Affirmed denial; conviction and sentence affirmed

United States v. Pack, 612 F.3d 341 (5th Cir.) (appellate review standard; may affirm on any record basis)
United States v. Wadley, 59 F.3d 510 (5th Cir. 1995) (probable cause and detention/search standards)
United States v. Garcia, 179 F.3d 265 (5th Cir.) (totality-of-circumstances for probable cause)
United States v. Weinrich, 586 F.2d 481 (5th Cir.) (innocent explanations do not negate probable cause analysis)
United States v. Johnson, 445 F.3d 793 (5th Cir.) (search incident to arrest doctrine)