United States v. Tuton

Patrolling I-30, Arkansas State Police Corporal Goodman stopped a Tornado bus for following too closely. Goodman regularly received High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area summaries that reported seizures from Tornado buses; traffickers were storing drugs in unlabeled luggage. Goodman observed that bus driver was “pretty nervous” and said he was driving to Milwaukee from southern Texas while passenger manifest indicated the destination was Chicago. Goodman thought it suspicious that the company would undertake a costly cross-country trip with only four passengers. The driver consented to a search and opened doors to a luggage compartment. Goodman saw six bags with name tags plus “a black bag all by itself with no apparent markings" and no name tag. Goodman opened the black bag and reached inside, feeling what he believed was a false bottom. While trying to access the hidden compartment, Goodman saw a tag bearing Tuton’s name trapped beneath the bag’s collapsed handle. Goodman stopped searching, requested a canine unit, and questioned the passengers. Goodman testified that Tuton was “very nervous,” said his journey began in El Paso, and gave answers that “didn’t make sense.” Goodman did not ask Tuton for consent to search. About four minutes after Goodman requested the canine unit, Corporal Rapert arrived with his dog, Hemi. Hemi jumped into the luggage compartment and immediately showed behavioral changes. Rapert concluded Hemi had given a “profound alert,” but did not give a “final indication” on any bag. Rapert advised Goodman that Hemi’s behavior provided probable cause to search. Officers searched all the bags and, in Tuton’s, found eight pounds of cocaine under the false bottom. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of Tuton’s motion to suppress. Discovery of the cocaine was not caused by Goodman’s prior unlawful search of the bag; Hemi’s sniff and alert were unaffected by that search. View "United States v. Tuton" on Justia Law