USA v. Torrieo Johnson

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 22-12504
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
TORRIEO MONTE JOHNSON,
a.k.a. Torrieo Corker,
Defendant-Appellant.
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Georgia
D.C. Docket No. 7:20-cr-00009-HL-TQL-1
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2 Opinion of the Court 22-12504
____________________
Before B RANCH, B RASHER , AND ABUDU, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
While patrolling one evening, Officer John Meredith
encountered a Honda with a suspended registration improperly
stopped in the middle of the street. Meredith lost sight of the
Honda but radioed other officers to help locate the vehicle, noting
two violations of Georgia law. After the Honda was found in a
driveway, Meredith approached the vehicle and the driver, Torrieo
Monte Johnson, who was standing outside the car. Smelling
marijuana, Meredith searched the car and found three guns.
A federal grand jury indicted Johnson for two counts related
to gun possession. Johnson moved to suppress all evidence
obtained from the search of his vehicle. The district court denied
his motion. Johnson then pleaded guilty.
On appeal, Johnson challenges the district court’s denial of
his pretrial motion to suppress the three guns. He argues that the
stop that preceded the search was not supported by reasonable
suspicion and thus in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Because
we conclude that the stop was justified at its inception, the district
court did not err. We thus affirm the district court’s decision.
I. Background
Officer Meredith, while patrolling one summer evening in
Thomasville, Georgia, came across a Honda that was stopped
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22-12504 Opinion of the Court 3
facing against traffic in the middle of a two-way street.1 Meredith
saw a known narcotics trafficker approach the car, and he testified
that he believed he saw a hand-to-hand drug deal.
To avoid hitting the Honda, Meredith crossed into the
opposite, oncoming lane of traffic. As he did so, he made eye
contact with both occupants of the car—Johnson, who was the
driver, and his passenger. Meredith drove ahead to turn his patrol
car around. In the process, he managed to identify the Honda’s
license plate information and run it through his in-car computer.
The search showed that the Honda’s registration was suspended.
After completing a three-point turn further down the road
and returning to the scene, Meredith lost sight of the Honda.
Noting two violations of Georgia law—(1) improperly stopping a
car in the middle of the street, and (2) operating a vehicle with a
suspended registration—Meredith radioed to other officers,
requesting help locating the Honda.
Soon, another officer relayed that the car was parked in a
driveway. Together, that officer and Meredith approached the car
and its occupants, who now stood outside the vehicle. Meredith
“could immediately smell the odor of marijuana coming from the
[Honda].” He told Johnson and the passenger about the suspected
1 The facts recounted here are drawn from the suppression hearing and
presented in the light most favorable to the government as the prevailing party
in the district court. See United States v. Cohen, 38 F.4th 1364, 1368 (11th Cir.
2022) (explaining the standard for reviewing a district court’s ruling on a
motion to suppress).
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4 Opinion of the Court 22-12504
violations of Georgia law and the smell of marijuana. Meredith
then searched the vehicle and found three guns.2
A federal grand jury indicted Johnson for two counts:
(1) possession of guns while a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 922(g)(1); and (2) possession of a stolen firearm in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 922(j). The government ultimately dismissed the
second count. Johnson moved to suppress all evidence obtained
from his detention and the search of his vehicle and requested an
evidentiary hearing.
At the suppression hearing, Johnson argued that the guns
should be suppressed because Officer Meredith lacked probable
cause to stop and seize him, violating his Fourth Amendment
Rights.3 The government responded that Meredith had probable
cause because he “believe[d] two traffic violations had been
committed” when he stopped Johnson—(1) improperly parking in
the middle of the road,4 and (2) operating a vehicle with a
2 The officers did not find any marijuana in the car.
3 During the suppression hearing, Johnson further argued that the officers
exceeded the scope of an investigatory detention. Because Johnson does not
make this argument on appeal—he solely argues that the officers lacked
reasonable suspicion to initiate the stop—we need not address it. Sapuppo v.
Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 680 (11th Cir. 2014).
4 At the suppression hearing and in its briefing below, the government cited
O.C.G.A. § 40-6-203, which makes it unlawful to stop a car in front of a public
or private driveway. O.C.G.A § 40-6-203(a)(2)(A) (stating it is illegal to “[s]tand
or park a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except momentarily to pick up or
discharge a passenger or passengers . . . [in] front of a public or private
driveway” unless it is necessary to do so “to avoid conflict with other traffic,
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22-12504 Opinion of the Court 5
suspended registration.5 The government also asserted that
Meredith had reasonable suspicion “to suspect Mr. Johnson . . . was
conducting a hand-to-hand [drug] deal.” At the end of the hearing,
the district court denied Johnson’s motion to suppress.
Johnson then pleaded guilty to violating § 922(g)(1) without
a written agreement, intending to appeal the denial of his motion.
The district court sentenced him to 260 months in prison, followed
by five years of supervised release.
Johnson appealed. He asks this Court “to reverse the district
court’s decision and remand the case so he may withdraw his plea.”
or in compliance with law or the directions of a police officer or official traffic-
control device[.]”). On appeal, the government argues that Johnson violated
Section 40-6-200(a)—not Section 40-6-203—when he stopped in the middle of
the road. Section 40-6-200(a) requires that “every vehicle stopped or parked
upon a two-way roadway shall be stopped or parked with the right-hand
wheels parallel to and within 12 inches of the right-hand curb or as close as
practicable to the right edge of the right-hand shoulder.” Id. § 40-6-200(a).
Because we ultimately determine that Meredith had reasonable suspicion to
stop Johnson based on the second perceived violation of Georgia traffic laws—
operating an unregistered vehicle—we do not address whether there was
reasonable suspicion for violation of Section 40-6-203 or 40-6-200(a).
5 Georgia law makes it unlawful to “knowingly drive[]” a car with a suspended
registration. O.C.G.A. § 40-6-15(a) (“Any person who knowingly drives a
motor vehicle on any public road or highway. . . at a time when the vehicle
registration of such vehicle is suspended[]. . . shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.”).
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6 Opinion of the Court 22-12504
II. Standard of Review
When reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress, “[w]e
apply a mixed standard of review . . . , reviewing [the district
court’s] factual findings for clear error and reviewing de novo its
application of the law to those facts.” Cohen, 38 F.4th at 1368
(emphasis added). “Factual findings are construed in the light most
favorable to the prevailing party.” Id.
III. Discussion
Johnson argues that the district court improperly denied his
motion to suppress because Meredith “lacked the reasonable
suspicion . . . necessary to justify a stop.” We agree with the
government that Meredith had reasonable suspicion to justify the
stop because he believed Johnson violated Georgia traffic laws.
Because discovery of the guns was supported by a reasonable
suspicion, the district court properly denied Johnson’s motion to
suppress.
The Fourth Amendment provides that “[t]he right of the
people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,
and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause[.]” U.S.
Const. amend. IV. If an officer obtains evidence in violation of the
Fourth Amendment, “including the direct products of police
misconduct and evidence derived from the illegal conduct, or ‘fruit
of the poisonous tree,’” that evidence “cannot be used in a criminal
trial against the victim of the illegal search and seizure.” United
States v. Perkins, 348 F.3d 965, 969 (11th Cir. 2003).
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22-12504 Opinion of the Court 7
We note that Johnson and the government characterize
Meredith’s seizure of Johnson differently. Johnson calls his
detention a “traffic stop,” while the government labels it a “Terry
stop.”6 Regardless of the encounter’s characterization, our
analytical framework is the same. See Rodriguez v. United States, 575
U.S. 348, 354 (2015) (explaining that “a routine traffic stop is ‘more
analogous to a so-called “Terry stop” . . . than to a formal arrest.’”).
A police officer may lawfully detain an individual in a traffic stop or
Terry stop if they have “reasonable suspicion” to believe criminal
activity occurred or will occur. See United States v. Campbell, 26
F.4th 860, 880 (11th Cir. 2022) (en banc) (stating an officer must
have “reasonable suspicion” to conduct a traffic stop); Gibbs, 917
F.3d at 1294 (explaining the “reasonable suspicion” standard for a
Terry stop).
To establish reasonable suspicion, there must be “a
sufficiently high probability that criminal conduct is occurring to
make the intrusion on the individual’s privacy interest reasonable.”
United States v. Yuknavich, 419 F.3d 1302, 1311 (11th Cir. 2005)
(quotations omitted). Courts “must look at the totality of the
circumstances of each case” to determine whether the officer had
a “particularized and objective basis for suspecting legal
6 A traffic stop generally occurs “when a law enforcement officer stops a
vehicle travelling on the roadways, pulls the car over, and may direct the
driver and any passenger to exit the car.” United States v. Gibbs, 917 F.3d 1289,
1296 (11th Cir. 2019). A Terry stop is “a brief, investigatory stop” that occurs
“when the officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity
is afoot.” Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119, 123 (2000).
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8 Opinion of the Court 22-12504
wrongdoing.” Id. (quotations omitted). “The officer must be able
to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with
rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant” a stop. Id.
(quotations omitted). “Even minor traffic violations qualify as
criminal activity” to provide an officer with reasonable suspicion to
make a stop. Campbell, 26 F.4th at 880.
So the question becomes: did Johnson’s actions “create[]
reasonable suspicion that a traffic violation . . . occurred[]”? Id. If
the answer is yes, the stop “was justified at its inception[.]” Gibbs,
917 F.3d at 1294.
We begin by considering whether Johnson’s actions in
driving an unregistered vehicle qualified as criminal activity for
which Meredith could make a traffic stop with reasonable
suspicion. O.C.G.A § 40-6-15(a) provides that it is unlawful for a
person to drive a vehicle when its registration is suspended.
O.C.G.A. § 40-6-15(a). Meredith testified that a search of the
Honda’s license plate showed that the car’s registration was
suspended. This fact alone provided Meredith with reasonable
suspicion to believe Johnson violated Georgia law by driving the
Honda. Campbell, 26 F.4th at 880.
Johnson disagrees, arguing that Meredith needed to show
that Johnson knew the Honda’s registration was suspended. [Id. at
12, 16–17.] But Johnson’s argument is unavailing. True, the
Georgia statute says that a crime is committed when a person
“knowingly drives a motor vehicle” with a suspended registration.
O.C.G.A. § 40-6-15(a) (emphasis added). But as the government
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22-12504 Opinion of the Court 9
argues, reasonable suspicion does not require that an officer have
proof of every element of a suspected crime to conduct an
investigative detention. We have explained that “[p]robable cause
does not require the same type of specific evidence of each element
of the offense as would be needed to support a conviction.” Holmes
v. Kucynda, 321 F.3d 1069, 1079 (11th Cir. 2003) (quoting Adams v.
Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 149 (1972)). It follows that reasonable
suspicion, as “a less demanding standard[,]” does not either.
Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 330 (1990) (“Reasonable suspicion
is a less demanding standard than probable cause[.]”). This is also
true of mens rea elements of perceived crimes. Jordan v. Mosley, 487
F.3d 1350, 1355–56 (11th Cir. 2007) (“[A]n arresting officer does not
need evidence of the intent for probable cause to arrest to exist.”);
United States v. Everett, 719 F.2d 1119, 1120 (11th Cir. 1983) (“While
intent is an element of the crime which must be proved at trial, it
is not necessary in order to establish probable cause to arrest.”).
Thus, to have reasonable suspicion allowing him to stop Johnson,
Meredith was not required to have specific proof of every element
of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-15(a), including whether Johnson “knew” of the
suspended registration.7 Meredith’s knowledge of the suspended
registration was enough.
7 Johnson also argues that Meredith did not know who drove the car,
suggesting he did not establish who violated the law. But Meredith testified
that he made eye contact with both occupants of the Honda as he drove past
it and identified Johnson as the driver.
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10 Opinion of the Court 22-12504
Johnson’s argument fails for another reason. Knowingly
driving a car with a suspended registration is a general intent crime.
See United States v. Bailey, 444 U.S. 394, 405 (1980) (“‘[K]nowledge’
corresponds loosely with the concept of general intent.”). And we
have said that “in Georgia, a person can be convicted for a general
intent offense without direct evidence of intent because ‘general
intent may be inferred from the conduct of the accused.’” Mosley,
487 F.3d at 1356 n.6 (quotations omitted). So the government “can
indirectly prove the requisite ‘intent’ by proving that the accused
did the pertinent act.” Id. In sum, the fact that Meredith saw the
Honda on the road with a suspended registration was enough to
provide Meredith with reasonable suspicion to institute a stop.
On top of arguing that Johnson violated Georgia law by
driving an unregistered vehicle, the government also pointed to
specific articulable facts that supported Meredith’s belief that other
criminal activity had occurred. See Yuknavich, 419 F.3d at 1311.
Meredith saw a known narcotics trafficker approach Johnson’s car
and testified that he believed he saw a hand-to-hand drug deal.
These facts also provided Meredith with reasonable suspicion to
stop the Honda because there was “a sufficiently high probability
that criminal conduct [was] occurring to make the intrusion on the
individual’s privacy interest reasonable.” See id.; Delaware v. Prouse,
440 U.S. 648, 663 (1979) (stating it is reasonable to detain a driver
when there is “articulable and reasonable suspicion . . . that [a
vehicle’s] occupant is . . . subject to seizure for violation of law”).
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22-12504 Opinion of the Court 11
Because we conclude that Meredith had reasonable
suspicion that Johnson violated Georgia law by driving a vehicle
with a suspended registration and engaging in a hand-to-hand drug
deal, we need not address whether Meredith also had reasonable
suspicion that Johnson violated Georgia law by stopping the Honda
in the middle of the road.
IV. Conclusion
Meredith’s stop of Johnson’s vehicle was justified at its
inception because it was based on reasonable suspicion. Thus, the
stop did not violate the Fourth Amendment and did not taint the
subsequent search of Johnson’s vehicle that revealed the firearms.
See Gibbs, 917 F.3d at 1294; Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471,
487–48 (1963). We therefore conclude that the district court did not
err in denying Johnson’s motion to suppress. Accordingly, we
affirm.
AFFIRMED.
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