United States v. Vaughns
United States v. Vaughns
Opinion
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-40739 Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
SHIMIKA LAVETTE VAUGHNS,
Defendant-Appellant.
-------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas USDC No. 1:01-CR-30-1 -------------------- December 24, 2002 Before JONES, STEWART, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Shimika Lavette Vaughns appeals her conditional guilty-plea
conviction for conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of
cocaine base and marijuana. She argues that her motion to suppress
the evidence seized should have been granted because the reason for
the initial investigatory stop, the traffic infraction, did not
justify the prolonged detention and subsequent search.
This court reviews a motion to suppress based on live
testimony at a suppression hearing by accepting the trial court’s
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. No. 02-40739 -2-
factual findings unless clearly erroneous or influenced by an
incorrect view of the law. See United States v. Alvarez,
6 F.3d 287, 289(5th Cir. 1993). A search and seizure must be reasonably
related in scope to the circumstances which justified the stop in
the first place. See United States v. Valadez,
267 F.3d 395, 397-
98 (5th Cir. 2001); see also Terry v. Ohio,
392 U.S. 1, 19-20(1968).
In order to continue a detention after a computer check is
complete and the officer either issues a citation or determines
that no citation should be issued, the officer must have reasonable
suspicion supported by articulable facts that a crime has been or
is being committed. United States v. Jones,
234 F.3d 234, 241(5th
Cir. 2000); see also Valadez,
267 F.3d at 398. Here, officers had
a reasonable suspicion supported by articulable facts that a crime
was being committed given their recognition of the driver of the
vehicle and information linking the driver of the vehicle with
drug-related offenses. Moreover, during the initial traffic stop,
the driver became visibly more nervous after he saw one of the
officers. Vaughns has not shown that the district court erred in
denying her motion to suppress. The district court’s judgment is
AFFIRMED.
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished