Wednesday, March 05, 2014

No 4th Amendment Violation When Cops Found Gun After Dragging Defendant from Parked Car

U.S. v. Mosley, -- F.3d --, 2014 WL 804005 (3/3/14)(Kan.) - Defendant passenger had standing to contest seizure of gun found in vehicle that was a fruit of the passenger's seizure. Passenger was not seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment where officers had an anonymous tip that an occupant of the car in which defendant was sitting was holding a gun in his lap, officers approached the car with weapons raised and yelling, "hands up," and defendant responded by making furtive movements suggestive of hiding or retrieving a gun before putting his hands up. Defendant was not actually seized until he complied with officers' orders by putting his hands up and by then, they had reasonable suspicion justifying a Terry stop. In addition to the furtive gestures after the confrontation by police and the anonymous tip about the gun, the stop occurred at 3 am in a crime prone area. Officers were justified in ordering the defendant out of the car and his failure to comply gave them probable cause to arrest him for the state offense of interfering with law enforcement.