United States v. Davis

726 F.3d 434 (2013)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Two Philadelphia police officers were patrolling a dangerous part of the city where drug deals and robberies are commonplace. The officers spotted a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, later determined to be from Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Inside were two men, D and Jamar Blackshear. The Jeep's engine was running, but nothing seemed amiss. D and Blackshear began to act suspiciously. They reached toward each other consistent with the exchanging of narcotics in a narcotics transaction. Upon noticing the officers, D and Blackshear had 'expressions of shock on their faces,' and they tossed something into the backseat. They exited the Jeep and quickly walked away-so quickly, in fact, that Blackshear did not bother closing his door. Officer Gilliam stopped Blackshear and patted him down to search for weapons. He instead found a wad of cash in his pocket. In the meantime, Officer Witherspoon stopped Davis and patted him down. He found a similar amount of cash. Everything indicated to the officers that this was a drug deal: the suspicious movements, the hurried departures, the wads of cash, and the neighborhood itself. Knowing that guns often accompany drug deals, the officers decided to search the Jeep for weapons-and to see if there were any other occupants. There was a handgun wedged between the driver's seat and the middle console. At that point, the officers arrested D and Blackshear and placed them in the patrol car. An Officer spotted an opaque shopping bag in the backseat. It was open and contained a white substance. The officers requested a drug-detection dog, which alerted to the presence of drugs. The officers obtained a warrant and recovered ten cell phones, a pair of binoculars, and two shopping bags with roughly 740 grams of cocaine distributed among nine smaller Ziploc bags. The cocaine itself was compressed into the shape of a brick and had a street value over $75,000. At trial, P asked permission to introduce D's two prior convictions for possessing cocaine. The court allowed them to show that D recognized the drugs in the Jeep. At no time did the prosecution show that the cocaine in D’s car was similar in appearance, texture, or form to the cocaine that was the subject of D’s prior possession convictions. D was convicted and appealed.