United States v. Terry Brown, 558 F. App'x 386

Officers responded to a report that Kasi Guyton received a counterfeit $100 bill at a yard sale and that the payer was a black male accompanied by a white male in a silver Toyota pickup with Florida plates.
Officer Benjamin saw a truck matching the description, followed it to a gas station, activated his lights, and encountered Anthony Jones (driver) and Terry Brown (passenger/outside passenger door).
Brown attempted to walk into the convenience store despite repeated orders to return; Benjamin drew his weapon after Brown failed to comply; Jones was searched and a counterfeit $100 was found; additional counterfeit bills and yard-sale items were located in the truck.
Brown was detained and later charged with aiding and abetting passing counterfeit bills; he moved to suppress statements made while detained, arguing his arrest/detention lacked probable cause.
The district court denied suppression after a hearing; Brown pleaded guilty conditionally and appealed the denial. The Fifth Circuit reviews factual findings for clear error and legal conclusions de novo.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether officer had reasonable suspicion to stop/detain Brown (Terry)	Brown: no individualized suspicion; he was not operating the truck and was merely present	Govt: caller identified two men and a vehicle; Brown matched presence/description and acted evasively	Court: Stop justified; reasonable suspicion existed to include Brown
Whether officer’s use of force (drawing weapon, ordering compliance) exceeded Terry scope	Brown: show of force converted detention into de facto arrest without probable cause	Govt: force was proportionate to dispel danger and enforce orders during investigative detention	Court: Drawing weapon and orders did not exceed Terry scope given disobedience and suspicion
Whether reasonable suspicion ripened into probable cause to arrest Brown	Brown: presence and association alone insufficient; no counterfeit found on him	Govt: combined factors (matching vehicle, eyewitness ID, Brown’s evasive conduct, open containers) created probable cause	Court: Laminated total established probable cause during stop; arrest valid
Whether district court committed reversible factual errors	Brown: court misfound counterfeit found on his person and overstated identifications	Govt: most findings supported; any error harmless	Court: One finding (counterfeit on Brown) was clear error but harmless; other findings supported and do not alter result

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (brief investigatory stops permitted on reasonable suspicion)
United States v. Brigham, 382 F.3d 500 (5th Cir. 2004) (two-step Terry analysis; review standards)
United States v. Vickers, 540 F.3d 356 (5th Cir. 2008) (reasonable suspicion requires less than probable cause; evaluated from officer's viewpoint)
United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266 (totality-of-circumstances reasonable-suspicion analysis)
United States v. Olivares-Pacheco, 633 F.3d 399 (5th Cir. 2011) (laminated total approach)
United States v. Scroggins, 599 F.3d 433 (5th Cir. 2010) (reasonable suspicion can ripen into probable cause during stop)
United States v. Rice, 652 F.2d 521 (5th Cir. 1981) (bystander’s independent evasive conduct can support probable cause)
United States v. Hernandez, 825 F.2d 846 (5th Cir. 1987) (eyewitness identification of a perpetrator supports probable cause)
United States v. Abdo, 733 F.3d 562 (5th Cir. 2013) (drawing a weapon during a Terry stop does not automatically convert it to an arrest)