PER CURIAM:
Michael Danyelle Stinson ("Stinson") appeals his conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). On appeal, Stinson challenges the district court's denial of his motion to suppress. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
On September 19, 2007, the Mecklenburg Police Department received an anonymous call. The caller reported seeing an armed black male selling drugs out of a red vehicle bearing North Carolina license plates numbered WNE-6746 on Burnette Avenue in Charlotte. The caller further described the man as having a bald head and wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts. Officers Edwards, Hall, and Carter responded to the call and observed a man (later identified as Stinson) and a vehicle matching the description given by the tipster.
Officer Edwards arrived first and observed Stinson leaning against the red vehicle. A woman later identified as Tiffany Gould, an ex-girlfriend of Stinson's, was standing with him. Officer Edwards approached, and asked for and received Stinson's consent to search his person. Officer Edwards also asked Stinson whether he owned the red vehicle. As Officers Hall and Carter arrived on the scene (a minute or so after Edwards), Stinson responded that he did not know to whom the vehicle belonged.
Officer Edwards then conducted a search of Stinson's person, removing two cell phones, a wad of cash, and some keys from his pockets. "While removing the keys from [Stinson's] pocket, Officer Edwards inadvertently pressed a button on the keyless entry pad attached to [Stinson's] keyring while the keys were still in his pocket." (J.A. 195 (order of district court).)
Although it is unclear from the record, at some point during the encounter, it appears that Officer Hall asked if he could search the vehicle. According to Officer Hall's testimony, Stinson initially refused to consent to a vehicle search, but once he was seated in the police car, Stinson granted permission to search his vehicle. Officers Edwards and Carter both testified that they did not hear an initial refusal of consent, but they both heard Stinson later consent to the search of his vehicle. After receiving Stinson's consent, Hall searched the vehicle and found a firearm under the driver's front seat. The gun was loaded and a records check showed it had been reported as stolen.
Stinson filed a motion to suppress all physical evidence (including the gun) and statements obtained following the search of his vehicle. He challenged the search of his person on the grounds that he did not consent and he challenged the search of his vehicle on the grounds that his consent was not voluntary. He also argued that the police lacked sufficient grounds to detain him. After an evidentiary hearing at which Stinson chose not to testify, the district court gave the parties an additional opportunity to file supplemental briefing on the motion. The district court subsequently denied the motion and the case was tried before a jury. The jury returned a guilty verdict and the district court sentenced Stinson to fifty-six months' incarceration, to be followed by a three-year supervised release term.
Stinson noted a timely appeal. This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
Stinson raises three issues on appeal. First, he contends that the search of his person was invalid because it exceeded the scope of his consent. Second, he argues that the police seizure of him was not justified by reasonable suspicion. Third, he contends that the search of his vehicle violated his Fourth Amendment rights because his consent to search was not voluntarily given. For the reasons discussed below, we find no error.
When reviewing a ruling on a motion to suppress, this Court will not disturb the district court's factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous.
Stinson first contends that the search of his person violated his Fourth Amendment rights. He argues that he consented only to a search for weapons and that the scope of the search of his person exceeded his consent because Officer Edwards searched for and seized other items in Stinson's pockets. According to Stinson, that "illegal search" yielded Stinson's money, phone, and keys, which, in turn, led to the search of Stinson's vehicle. (Opening Br. at 23.) He thus contends that the search of his person violated the Fourth Amendment and tainted the subsequent discovery of the handgun in his car.
Stinson concedes that he did not raise this issue below and we thus review only for plain error. Under this standard, a defendant must show an error that is "plain" and "affects [his] substantial rights."
As applied here, Stinson's argument fails to meet the plain error standard of
But the district court also found that Stinson voluntarily consented to the search of "his person" when Edwards requested that consent. (J.A. 195.) The scope of a consent search is governed by what a "typical reasonable person [would] have understood by the exchange between the officer and the suspect."
In this case, Edwards testified that he said to Stinson, "Sir, do you mind me searching your person just to make sure that, you know, you don't have any drugs — weapons or drugs, anything that could harm me." (J.A. 34-35.) According to Edwards, Stinson replied that he allowed him to conduct the search by responding that he did not "mind at all." (J.A. 35.) Edwards' testimony of course indicates that Stinson was consenting to a search of his person not just for weapons, but also for drugs.
While Edwards may not have had authority (absent consent) to do anything other than perform a patdown for weapons, Stinson could consent to a broader search than the law would allow without his consent.
Having determined that Stinson's consent allowed the search of his pockets for both drugs and weapons, we conclude that Edwards' search did not exceed the scope of the consent given. Thus, Stinson has not established plain error on this issue.
Stinson next contends that he was improperly seized and that there was no reasonable suspicion to detain him.
As this Court has explained:
We conclude that the officers had reasonable suspicion sufficient to detain Stinson. Specifically, the following facts support the district court's determination that there was reasonable suspicion to detain Stinson: (1) the anonymous tipster, who had provided accurate and detailed information describing Stinson and the vehicle, had informed police that Stinson was armed; (2) the encounter took place in a high-crime area where two officers had been killed months before and others had been shot at previously; (3) Stinson had two cell phones and a number of folded cash bills on his person; (4) Stinson lied about the ownership or control of the car, thereby suggesting an intent to hide something; and (5) when confronted with his lie, Stinson became nervous, and began shaking and looking around, which led at least one of the officers to believe that Stinson was about to flee.
Given these facts, the officers had reasonable suspicion to believe criminal activity was afoot and to detain Stinson. Thus, his detention did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights.
As we have noted, shortly after he was detained, Stinson gave consent for the police to search his car. Stinson's final assignment of error is that the district court erred in concluding that his consent to search his vehicle was voluntary. Essentially, he argues that, under the totality of the circumstances, his consent could not have been voluntary.
As this Court recently noted, "[w]hether a defendant's consent to a search is voluntary is a factual question, and, therefore, is reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard."
Determining whether consent is voluntary requires an examination of the totality of the circumstances, including factors such as "the characteristics of the accused, his education and intelligence, the number of officers present, . .. the location and duration of the stop [and] [w]hether the person giving consent knew that he possessed a right to refuse consent . . . ."
The district court in this case expressly found that Stinson's consent was voluntary under the totality of the circumstances. There are a number of facts that support that finding:
On the other hand, Stinson contends that the following circumstances and facts show that his will was overborne and that his consent was not voluntary:
Stinson emphasizes, in particular, that the seizure of his keys, wallet and phone meant that he was not "free to leave," and argues from this that he was not free to refuse consent. But the test for determining the voluntariness of consent is not whether an individual is free to leave, but whether a person felt free to refuse permission to search. Indeed, this Court and others have found consent voluntary when an individual is otherwise detained, including being in handcuffs.
Comparing the competing lists of circumstances and viewing them in their totality, we conclude the district court's finding that Stinson voluntarily consented to the search of his vehicle was not clearly erroneous,
For the aforementioned reasons, Stinson has not established that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress. We therefore affirm Stinson's conviction and the judgment of the district court.