United States v. Williams, 82 F. Supp. 3d 1183

On Sept. 25, 2014 Metro officers responded to a 4:40 a.m. caller reporting a Black man sleeping in a gray Ford 500 in a residential parking lot; officers found a matching car and blocked it.
Officers activated lights and spotlights; defendant Tony Williams (driver) started the car, then (per court) turned it off, exited, closed the door, and fled on foot; officers pursued and captured him ~75 yards away, handcuffed him and kept him prone.
Officer Hubbard conducted a pat-down then reached into Williams’ pockets and found a bag of crack and $1,165; after returning to the Ford Hubbard searched the vehicle, opened a purse in the back seat and found a handgun.
Government charged Williams with being a felon in possession of a firearm (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)); Williams moved to suppress the items seized from his person and the car.
At a suppression hearing the court found key officer testimony not credible (e.g., car left running, reaching into waistband), and ruled the searches unlawful because there was no probable cause for the pocket search, no lawful arrest to support a search-incident-to-arrest, and no basis to search the vehicle (abandonment, automobile exception, or valid inventory search).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Lawfulness of search of Williams’ pockets	Officers had authority to search incident to arrest and/or for officer safety	Search exceeded frisk; no probable cause for pockets after pat-down	Search of pockets unlawful — no probable cause; evidence suppressed
Validity of arrest / search-incident-to-arrest	Flight and circumstances justified arrest for obstruction/trespass/loitering enabling search incident to arrest	Flight alone creates at most reasonable suspicion; no observed crime or facts supporting arrest	No probable cause to arrest; search-incident-to-arrest invalid
Lawfulness of vehicle search (automobile exception)	After arrest and seizure officers had probable cause to search vehicle	No probable cause independent of the unlawful pocket search; vehicle not abandoned	Vehicle search unlawful; handgun suppressed as fruit of illegal searches
Abandonment / Inventory search exception	Vehicle impound/inventory justified and followed policy, so search valid	No abandonment; impound arose from unlawful arrest; officers did not follow inventory policy	Neither abandonment nor a valid inventory cured the taint; inventory exception inapplicable

United States v. Smith, 633 F.3d 889 (9th Cir. 2011) (seizure not complete until physical apprehension after flight)
Minnesota v. Dickerson, 508 U.S. 366 (U.S. 1993) (pat-down revealing no weapon does not permit exploratory pocket search absent probable cause)
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. 1983) (probable cause defined by totality of circumstances; "fair probability" test)
California v. Acevedo, 500 U.S. 565 (U.S. 1991) (automobile exception permits warrantless search when probable cause exists to believe vehicle contains contraband)
United States v. Perea-Rey, 680 F.3d 1179 (9th Cir. 2012) (evidence derived from an illegal search is inadmissible as fruit of the poisonous tree)
Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (U.S. 1963) (fruits of illegal searches and seizures are inadmissible)
United States v. Nordling, 804 F.2d 1466 (9th Cir. 1986) (abandonment focuses on intent and objective indications of relinquished privacy)
United States v. Cervantes, 703 F.3d 1135 (9th Cir. 2012) (inventory searches lawful only when conducted pursuant to standard police policy and not as ruse for general rummaging)
Miranda v. City of Cornelius, 429 F.3d 858 (9th Cir. 2005) (impoundment must be justified before inventory search exception applies)