United States v. Howard

Before a Milwaukee-area Verizon store was robbed, witnesses in the store noticed a Mercedes sitting in the parking lot for an extended time. Just before the robber entered through the rear door, the Mercedes drove to the back of the store. As the robber fled, the Mercedes sped away at a high speed. Investigating officers thought the Mercedes was a “decoy,” intended to distract from the actual getaway car. Police stopped the Mercedes, which contained no evidence of involvement in the robbery. During a five-hour interrogation, the car’s occupants named King as the robber. King was arrested and admitted to the Verizon robbery and other robberies. A search of his home uncovered evidence of King’s involvement in several robberies. Charged with unlawfully taking and attempting to take wireless phones in interstate commerce by means of actual and threatened force, violence, and fear of injury, 18 U.S.C. 1951, 1952, and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A)(ii), King moved to suppress evidence obtained after his arrest. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of the motion, stating that the Mercedes’s conduct cannot be confused with innocent behavior and that the police were not merely acting on a hunch. View "United States v. Howard" on Justia Law