Motion to Suppress Evidence

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Tamichale L. Paige

Case No.: 16-4128

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and RIPPLE and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Motion to Suppress Evidence

A grand jury indicted Tamichale Paige with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2), and one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). Mr. Paige moved to suppress the firearm and the drugs; he claimed that the police officer who conducted the search, Officer Tiara Sheets-Walker, had no lawful basis to pat him down or to search his vehicle. After an evidentiary hearing before a magistrate judge, the district court denied Mr. Paige’s motion. Mr. Paige then entered a conditional plea of guilty to both counts, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. Mr. Paige was sentenced to twenty-eight months’ imprisonment and four years of supervised release.

Mr. Paige now submits that the district court erred in holding that Officer Sheets-Walker had probable cause to arrest him. He contends, therefore, that the search of his person and vehicle cannot be justified as incident to a lawful arrest. We cannot accept this argument. The district court correctly denied the motion to suppress; Officer Sheets-Walker had probable cause to arrest Mr. Paige for possessing marijuana1 and for operating a vehicle while impaired. She also had probable cause to believe that Mr. Paige’s vehicle contained evidence of criminal activity. We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment.

Affirmed

Full Text

Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.