USCA1 Opinion

October 19, 1994

[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
____________________

No. 93-2005
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Appellee,
v.
GEORGE P. AMADO,
Defendant, Appellant.
____________________
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND
[Hon. Francis J. Boyle, Senior U.S. District Judge]
__________________________
____________________
Before
Torruella, Chief Judge,
___________
Boudin, Circuit Judge,
_____________
and Barbadoro,* District Judge.
______________
____________________

Robert J. Carnes, by Appointment of the Court, for appellant.

________________
Margaret E. Curran, Assistant United States Attorney, with w
___________________
Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Attorney, and Zechariah Chaf
___________________
_______________
Assistant United States Attorney, were on brief for the United Stat
____________________
____________________
____________________
*Of the District of New Hampshire, sitting by designation.

Per Curiam.
__________
Rhode Island.
officer

On

March 13, 1993, a severe

snowstorm hit

About 4:00 p.m., near North Providence, police

Christopher

Conaty

noticed

small

blue

Dodge

operating erratically and skidding sideways into the oncoming

traffic lane
asked

the

while attempting
driver,

registration,

John

Revertes,

which Revertes

Conaty
for

could not

license

produce.

and

Revertes

he was

daughter,

but he was unable or unwilling to provide the name

daughter.

the hospital

his

stopped and

said that

of his

going to

a turn.

Following standard

to visit his

sick

procedure, the officer

called in Revertes' name

determine whether

and plate number over his

the vehicle was registered

radio to

and whether it

had been stolen.

George Amado, the defendant-appellant
a passenger

in the back seat of

at or near the Dodge while

Before Conaty

Amado's
coat;

his leather
coat.

the Dodge.

He

Conaty remained

awaiting a response to his

received the information from

he noticed that Amado

out of

in this case, was

the radio call,

was moving his hands furtively

coat.

Conaty also

asked Amado to remove

for

backup

assistance,

which

in

his hands from his

Amado at first complied but then refused.

called

in and

noticed a bulge

his gun and ordered Amado to take his hands out

He

call.

Conaty drew
of his coat.

arrived

almost

immediately.

-2-2-

Conaty and the other

of the

car one at

a time.

officers ordered the occupants out

Because

he was seated

in back,

Amado was

the last

to get

out.

Conaty

grabbed him

by the back

around

the car

be frisked.

shrugged

to

Amado exited

of the

appeared

(and turned

out) to

both

cocaine and heroin--fell to

lead him

at

Conaty,

Amado was apprehended

During the struggle, a clear

what

the car,

jacket to

Amado lunged

out of his jacket, and fled.

after a chase.

his

As

bag containing

be narcotics--actually,

the ground.

The bulge in

jacket had been caused by a cellular phone and a beeper.

The entire encounter took between five and ten minutes.

Amado was indicted
His

motion to

June 21,

guilty

suppress the

1993, after

adduced.

by a

the

Four days later

to one count of

grand jury on
drugs was

facts set

April 1,

heard and
forth

he entered a

1993.

denied on

above had

been

conditional plea of

possession with intent to distribute

cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute

heroin, in violation of
Amado

reserved

suppression
September 10,

his

21 U.S.C.

right

motion.
1993, he

Fed.

to

841(a)(1) &

appeal
R.

received

Crim.

the
P.

a sentence

(b)(1)(C).

denial

of

11(a)(2).
of 27

the
On

months'

imprisonment.
On

this appeal, Amado

denial of his

challenges the

suppression motion.

-3-3-

We think

district judge's
it is

obvious

that

the seizure of Amado's drugs did not violate the Fourth

Amendment.
The

Only three points raised require comment.

initial stop of the

was lawful.
witnessed

648,

Amado was riding

The district court found that the police officer

traffic violation

hazardous driving
U.S.

car in which

659,

conditions.
661

in

the

midst of

See Delaware v.
___ ________

(1979) (finding

unusually
Prouse, 440
______

traffic

violation

grounds for a stop); United States v. Lott, 870 F.2d 778, 784
_____________
____
(1st

Cir. 1989) (same).

A district court's findings of fact

at a suppression hearing are reviewed for clear error, United

______
States v. Kimball,
______
_______
is no

25 F.3d 1, 6 (1st Cir.

indication of error

at all.

1994); here there

Conaty might

have been

remiss in his duties had he not stopped the car.

The
stopped
less

length and scope of the detention after the car was

were likewise

than

ten

justified.

minutes.

When

suspicious behavior, he had not

the radio

check on the

not produced a valid

detain the vehicle

The entire
Conaty

episode took

noticed

Amado's

yet received the results

vehicle registration.

of

Revertes had

registration, and Conaty could properly

until he

found out whether

the car

had

been

stolen.

requires

There

is nothing

police officer

in

the Constitution

who halts

car driven

that
by one

individual to ignore suspicious indications of other criminal

activity or a threat to the officer from a passenger.

-4-4-

Once Conaty witnessed

grounds to

stop and frisk him.

his failure

to remove

permitted Conaty
armed and
106,

his hand,

111-12 (1977)
out of

and

and his

furtive movements

attempting to

frisk Amado.

process

led to

Amado might be

v. Mimms,
_____

based on

We find that
of

order

a traffic

At that point, Conaty

the passengers out of the

the seizure

434 U.S.

suspicion to

frisk him

in his jacket).

was justified in ordering

justified.

in Amado's coat,

See Pennsylvania
___ ____________

a car

had

The bulge

(finding reasonable

violation and a bulge

that

actions, he

reasonably to conclude that

dangerous.

defendant

Amado's furtive

car and

each step in

drugs from

the

Amado was

Affirmed.
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