United States of America v. Gryant Dewayne Underwood

Muskogee, Oklahoma, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with felony possession of an unregistered firearm in violation of 26 U.S.C. 5845(a).

Digested by Kent Morlan

Bryant Underwood unsuccessfully sought to suppress the contents of
a search initiated during a traffic stop, arguing the initial stop violated the Fourth
Amendment.

Late one night in October 2023, LeFlore County Sheriff’s Deputy Wes Wiles
saw a car stop and let out two passengers on Chloe Layne Road, near the intersection with Casey Lane, in Spiro, Oklahoma. Wiles pulled the car over and, upon approaching the driver’s side window, saw the end of a gun. He and other deputies ordered the passengers out—Underwood among them—and searched the car. Based on the results of that search, the government brought firearms charges against Underwood.

To comply with the Fourth Amendment, a traffic stop must be “justified at its
inception” and the detention must be “reasonably related in scope to the
circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.” Terry v. Ohio, 392
U.S. 1, 19–20 (1968); see also United States v. Davis, 636 F.3d 1281, 1290 (10th Cir.
2011) (explaining that Terry governs routine traffic stops). A stop is “justified” if it is
supported by reasonable suspicion—that is, if the officer can “point to specific and
articulable facts which” support an “objective[ly]” reasonable belief that “criminal
activity may be afoot.” Terry, 392 U.S. at 20–21, 30. “[T]he government bears the
burden of demonstrating reasonableness.” United States v. Pena-Montes, 589 F.3d
1048, 1057 (10th Cir. 2009).

The Defendant was found guilty.

Affirmed on appeal.