United States v. Garza ( 2002 )

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 01-51119
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
LEROY SALAZAR GARZA,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
(A-01-CR-130-ALL-SS)
_________________________________________________________________
July 26, 2002
Before HIGGINBOTHAM, BARKSDALE, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Pursuant to his conditional guilty plea to possession of a
firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a stolen firearm,
Leroy Salazar Garza appeals the denial of his motion to suppress a
firearm discovered during a pat down search (following a traffic
stop) and made the basis of his conviction. Garza admits the
Officer who stopped him had reason to suspect he was the owner of
the truck he was driving and had outstanding arrest warrants. He
*
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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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.
contends, however, that the totality of the circumstances fall
short of supporting a reasonable suspicion that he was armed.
Conclusions of law concerning a motion to suppress are
reviewed de novo; findings of fact, for clear error. United States
v. Jordan, 232 F.3d 447, 448 (5th Cir. 2000). Garza does not
challenge any findings of fact.
Given, inter alia, the degree of nervousness Garza exhibited,
his other suspicious behavior, the fact that the stop was made in
front of a daycare center, and the fact that Garza never took his
hands out of his pockets, the Officer’s pat down did not violate
the Fourth Amendment. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 22-24, 27 (1968);
United States v. Webster, 162 F.3d 308, 332 (5th Cir. 1998), cert.
denied, 528 U.S. 829 (1999); United States v. Michelletti, 13 F.3d
838, 840-41 (5th Cir.)(en banc), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 829 (1994).
AFFIRMED
2