Filed: Dec. 09, 2011
Latest Update: Feb. 22, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 11-4669 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. GUY W. ESCUE, III, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Charleston. John T. Copenhaver, Jr., District Judge. (2:10-cr-00159-1) Submitted: December 7, 2011 Decided: December 9, 2011 Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and WYNN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Mary Lou Newberger,
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 11-4669 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. GUY W. ESCUE, III, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Charleston. John T. Copenhaver, Jr., District Judge. (2:10-cr-00159-1) Submitted: December 7, 2011 Decided: December 9, 2011 Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and WYNN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Mary Lou Newberger, F..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 11-4669
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
GUY W. ESCUE, III,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern
District of West Virginia, at Charleston. John T. Copenhaver,
Jr., District Judge. (2:10-cr-00159-1)
Submitted: December 7, 2011 Decided: December 9, 2011
Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Mary Lou Newberger, Federal Public Defender, Jonathan D. Byrne,
Appellate Counsel, Edward H. Weis, Assistant Federal Public
Defender, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellant. R. Booth
Goodwin II, United States Attorney, Steven I. Loew, Assistant
United States Attorney, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Guy W. Escue, III, pled guilty, pursuant to a written
plea agreement, to one count of possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1),
924(a)(2) (2006), and was sentenced to eighty-four months’
imprisonment. In the plea agreement, Escue reserved the right
to challenge the district court’s denial of his motion to
suppress evidence seized from his bedroom. Escue contends on
appeal that the district court erred in denying the motion to
suppress because his consent to search the bedroom was not
voluntarily given. We affirm.
In reviewing the district court’s denial of Escue’s
suppression motion, we review the court’s factual findings for
clear error and its legal conclusions de novo. United States v.
Foster,
634 F.3d 243, 246 (4th Cir. 2011). Because the district
court denied Escue’s motion, we review the evidence in the light
most favorable to the Government.
Id. We also defer to the
district court’s credibility determinations. United States v.
Abu Ali,
528 F.3d 210, 232 (4th Cir. 2008).
The Fourth Amendment guarantees “[t]he right of the
people to be secure . . . against unreasonable searches and
seizures.” U.S. Const. amend. IV. This guarantee requires that
“searches be conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by an
independent judicial officer.” California v. Carney,
471 U.S.
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386, 390 (1985). There are, however, “a few specifically
established and well-delineated exceptions” to this general
rule. California v. Acevedo,
500 U.S. 565, 580 (1991) (internal
quotation marks omitted).
With these standards in mind, and having reviewed the
transcript of the suppression hearing and the parties’ briefs,
we conclude that the district court did not err in denying
Escue’s motion to suppress. The record amply supports the
district court’s finding that Escue consented to the search of
his bedroom. Further, we conclude after review of the record
that Escue voluntarily consented to the search.
See Schneckloth v. Bustamonte,
412 U.S. 218, 219, 227 (1973)
(recognizing that consent is an exception to the warrant
requirement and that voluntariness of consent depends on the
totality of the circumstances); United States v. Lattimore,
87 F.3d 647, 650 (4th Cir. 1996) (en banc) (listing factors
appropriate for consideration in reviewing whether consent was
voluntarily given).
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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