United States v. Vance ( 1998 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v. No. 97-4675
WALTER VANCE,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt.
Peter J. Messitte, District Judge.
(CR-97-0103-PJM)
Submitted: June 30, 1998
Decided: July 20, 1998
Before NIEMEYER and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges, and
PHILLIPS, Senior Circuit Judge.
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Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
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COUNSEL
James K. Bredar, Federal Public Defender, Susan M. Bauer, Assistant
Federal Public Defender, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellant. Lynne
A. Battaglia, United States Attorney, Deborah A. Johnston, Assistant
United States Attorney, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee.
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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).
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OPINION
PER CURIAM:
Walter Vance pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a fire-
arm, conditioned upon his right to appeal the district court's denial of
his motion to suppress. On appeal, Vance contends that the district
court erred by finding that the police officers had sufficient cause to
search him. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
At the suppression hearing the following facts were revealed. As
three police officers1 approached in a vehicle, they saw Vance and a
second man standing in a building entranceway. The officers exited
the vehicle and told the men to "clear the hallway."2 The other man
approached the officers with a pistol in his hand and an officer
retrieved the weapon.3 At approximately the same time, Vance was
walking behind the other two officers and placed his hands inside his
coat pocket. An officer stopped and frisked Vance finding a loaded
pistol in his coat pocket. The district court found that based upon the
totality of the circumstances the officers had a reasonable articulable
suspicion that Vance was armed relying on United States v. Poms,
484 F.2d 919 (4th Cir. 1973).
The reasonableness of a search and seizure is a legal conclusion
which we review de novo with the factual findings underlying the
legal conclusions reviewed for clear error. See United States v.
Rusher, 966 F.2d 868, 873 (4th Cir. 1992). A brief investigative stop
is permissible whenever an officer has reasonable suspicion grounded
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1 The officers were employed by Bradley Hills Limited Partnership,
were commissioned by the state of Maryland, and granted with full arrest
powers at this property. (J.A. at 17).
2 (J.A. at 25). Also, loitering is prohibited in entranceways of the prop-
erty. (J.A. at 20, 21, 111).
3 The gun was in fact a starter's pistol.
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in articulable and specific facts that a crime has been or is about to
be committed. See United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 229
(1985). At trial, defense counsel contended that the officers could
have permissibly stopped Vance to question him but that the pat-
down search was impermissible. We have previously rejected this
argument. See United States v. Moore, 817 F.2d 1105, 1108 (4th Cir.
1987) ("`There is no reason why an officer, rightfully but forcibly
confronting a person suspected of serious crime, should have to ask
one question and take the risk that the answer might be a bullet.'")
(quoting Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 33 (1968) (Harlan, J., concur-
ring)). An officer making a lawful investigatory stop may protect
himself by conducting a search for weapons if he has reason to
believe the suspect is "armed and dangerous." Id. at 1107 (citing
Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 146 (1972)). We do not find that
the district court erred in its order denying the motion to suppress.
The officers testified that because one man had a gun and because
Vance was moving away from and behind them as he placed his
hands in his pockets, they feared Vance, too, had a weapon. Accord-
ingly, we affirm.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal conten-
tions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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