U.S. v. Dodson, 96-2040

• Decision Date: 26 March 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-2040,96-2040
• Citation: 109 F.3d 486
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. David DODSON, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 486

109 F.3d 486

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. David DODSON, Appellant.

No. 96-2040.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Feb. 10, 1997.

Decided March 26, 1997.

William Leon Gavras, St. Louis, MO, argued, for appellant.

Thomas J. Mehan, St. Louis, MO, argued (Edward L. Dowd, Jr., United States Attorney, on the brief), for appellee.

Before BOWMAN and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judges, and BOGUE, ¹ District Judge.

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

David Dodson entered a conditional plea of guilty to armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) and (d), and the use of a firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). He appeals from the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence and the sentence imposed by the court. We affirm the conviction, but remand for resentencing.

I.

On May 11, 1995, an armed man robbed the Lindell Bank and Trust Company in St. Louis, Missouri. Witnesses described the perpetrator as a thin white male in his late teens to early twenties, with light brown or blond hair that was cut short on the sides. Witnesses recalled that he was wearing a black tank-top shirt and a black coat. One witness saw the man leave in a U-Haul rental truck that had been parked a short distance away.

On May 18, 1995, Steven McGuire, an off-duty police officer who had participated in the investigation of the bank robbery, saw a man he thought met the description of the man that had robbed the bank the week before. In particular, Officer McGuire noticed that the man was a thin white male in his early twenties, with short brown hair that was shaved on the sides and that he was wearing a black tank-top. In addition, the man was driving a Ryder rental truck one-half mile from the scene of the bank robbery. Suspecting that this man (later identified as Dodson) was the robber, McGuire followed Dodson, but later lost sight of the truck. McGuire eventually relocated the truck and saw Dodson leaving Boatmen's Bank. McGuire then found an on-duty police officer, Michael Sibels, and told Sibels of his suspicions regarding Dodson.

Sibels found the Ryder truck that McGuire had seen parked along a street and parked behind it. As he was radioing for assistance, Sibels noticed that Dodson was leaning down in the cab of the truck. When another officer, Detective Touhill, arrived on the scene, Dodson exited the truck, walked over to the officers, and asked what was going on. As Detective Touhill spoke with Dodson, Sibels walked to the cab of the truck and saw a black coat on the seat. Upon opening the door and seeing the grip of a pistol under a bag, Sibels lifted the bag and found a 9mm pistol.

Sibels walked to the back of the truck and asked Dodson to put his hands behind his back, whereupon Dodson grabbed Sibels around the neck. A struggle ensued, and Dodson, Sibels, and Touhill fell to the ground before the officers were able to subdue Dodson. Dodson ultimately confessed to both the local police and later to the FBI that he had robbed the Lindell Bank.

Dodson was indicted on charges of armed robbery and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court denied Dodson's motion to suppress evidence. Dodson entered a conditional plea of guilty, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress and his sentence. The presentence investigation report (PSR) recommended a two-level enhancement because the struggle between Dodson and the police officers resulted in Sibels's sustaining minor injuries. The district court overruled Dodson's objection to that recommendation, imposed a two-level enhancement, and sentenced Dodson to a term of 100 months' imprisonment.

II.

Dodson maintains that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence seized from the rental truck, arguing that the stop was not based on reasonable suspicion. While we review the district court's findings of fact for clear error, we review de novo the district court's ultimate finding of reasonable suspicion. See Ornelas v. United States, --- U.S. ----, ----, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 1663, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996); United States v. Porter, 107 F.3d 582, 584 (8th Cir. 1997).

We look to the totality of the circumstances, in light of the officer's experience, see United States v. Dixon, 51 F.3d 1376, 1381 (8th Cir.1995), to determine whether the facts collectively establish that reasonable suspicion supported stopping Dodson. See United States v. Green, 52 F.3d 194, 198-99 (8th Cir.1995). Reasonable suspicion, as described by the Supreme Court, is simply " 'a particularized and objective basis' for suspecting the person stopped of criminal activity." Ornelas, --- U.S. at ----, 116 S.Ct. at 1661 (quoting United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-18, 101 S.Ct. 690, 695, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981)).

The witnesses to the robbery the week earlier provided the police with a detailed description of the suspect, including not only details about the man's appearance but also details about what he was wearing and the type of vehicle he was driving. McGuire, who participated in the investigation of the robbery one week earlier and was familiar with the description of the suspect, saw a man in the vicinity of the bank robbery. After observing the man twice, once when he was...