United States of America v. Cornelius Mayberry, a/k/a Red

Spartanburg, South Carolina criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with possession of meth with intent to distribute.



The defendant, Cornelius Mayberry, entered a conditional guilty plea in the district

court to (1) possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, in

violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(C) and 18 U.S.C. § 2; (2) possession

of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C.

§§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2; and (3) assault and resistance to official search or seizure, in

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2231(a). Mayberry reserved in his plea agreement the right to

appeal the court's denial of two motions, a motion to suppress the government's search of

his backpack and a supplemental motion to suppress his post-arrest statements. Mayberry

now appeals the court's denial of these suppression motions, as well as the court's denial

of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea before his sentencing. Because we conclude that

the district court did not err in denying these motions, we affirm Mayberry's conviction.



At 4:00 a.m. on May 3, 2018, a South Carolina Highway Patrol officer stopped the

driver of a car for speeding.1 The officer searched the car and found guns,

methamphetamine, and $20,000 in cash. Josh Davis was a passenger in the car at the time.

Davis told the officer, who was joined at the scene by other state and federal officers, that

he was going to a Red Roof Inn in Gaffney, South Carolina, to purchase four pounds of

methamphetamine from a man he knew as "Red.”



Davis stated that he had purchased drugs from "Red” at this hotel on another

occasion. When the officers showed Davis a photograph of Roy Phillips, a known drug

trafficker who used the name "Red,” Davis identified Phillips as the man from whom he

previously had purchased drugs. At that point, Davis agreed to cooperate with the officers

in their investigation of "Red.”



The officers sent "Red” a text message from Davis's cell phone saying that Davis

was on his way to the Red Roof Inn. Meanwhile, between 10 and 15 law enforcement

officers were conducting surveillance at that hotel. A short time later, officers saw a blue

pick-up truck enter and park in the hotel parking lot. At that time, Davis received a text

message from "Red” saying that he had arrived and needed access to the hotel. Davis

responded to "Red” with a text message to "come on in” and told "Red” that Davis was on

the second floor.



Almost immediately, officers observed the driver of the blue truck get out of his

vehicle with a young child and enter the side door of the hotel. The driver, later identified

as Cornelius Mayberry, carried a distinctive red, white, and blue "Tommy Hilfiger”

backpack. Two police officers soon entered the hotel through this same side door, which

led to an interior stairwell. The officers climbed to the second floor and entered the second-

floor hallway by opening a door. Upon entering the hallway, the officers saw Mayberry

and the child about 15 to 20 feet down the hall, walking away from the same interior

stairwell door. No one else was in the hallway. Announcing their presence as "police,” the

officers arrested Mayberry.



Around this time, another police officer (the third officer) entered the hotel and

walked up the same set of interior stairs. On the landing next to the closed door to the

second-floor hallway, the third officer observed a red, white, and blue "Tommy Hilfiger”

backpack that looked like the one Mayberry had been carrying. Upon opening the door to

the second-floor hallway, the third officer saw that two other officers had detained

Mayberry. The third officer then removed the backpack to the parking lot, where a dog

trained in narcotics detection "alerted” on the backpack. Officers searched the backpack

at that point and found two kilograms of methamphetamine (about 4.4 pounds).



While in police custody, Mayberry waived his right to remain silent and to consult

with an attorney, agreed to speak with law enforcement, and allowed the officers to search

his cell phone. The officers observed that Mayberry had referred to himself as "Red” in

the text messages on his phone, including in the messages he had sent to Davis. Mayberry

admitted that he had gone to the Red Roof Inn to sell two kilograms of methamphetamine.5





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Defendant unsccessffly sought to set aside his guilty plea and to suppress the evidence against him.

Affirmed