Case: 20-60106 Document: 00515782505 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/16/2021 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED March 16, 2021 No. 20-60106 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellant, versus Okanlawan O. Norbert, Defendant—Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi USDC No. 3:19-CR-50 Before Davis, Stewart, and Oldham, Circuit Judges. W. Eugene Davis, Circuit Judge: The Government appeals the district court’s ruling granting Defendant-Appellee Okanlawan O. Norbert’s motion to suppress evidence that was critical to establish the Government’s charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The district court determined that police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to conduct the investigatory stop of Norbert. Therefore, Norbert’s gun and statements to the police were suppressed as “fruit of the poisonous tree.” Because the district court did not err in finding that the officers did not have reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop, we AFFIRM. Case: 20-60106 Document: 00515782505 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/16/2021 No. 20-60106 I. BACKGROUND Norbert was charged in a one-count indictment for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). Following his indictment, Norbert moved to suppress the evidence of the gun and statements that he made to police officers before and after discovery of the gun, arguing that the police lacked any legal basis for the stop that resulted in discovery of the incriminating evidence. The district court held a suppression hearing, where Investigators Felix McClinton and Kevin Lavine from the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office testified. Investigator McClinton testified that on the morning of November 29, 2017, he received a phone call with an anonymous tip that illegal drugs were being sold in the parking lot of the Millsaps Apartments in Jackson, Mississippi. The caller said that she was in management at the apartment complex and described the suspected dealer as a “black male, dark skinned, slender build with gold teeth known as ‘N.O.’” who drove a black Infiniti with a license plate of “HVK225.” The complainant told McClinton that the alleged drug dealing was a “personal safety issue” and “the residents of the apartment complex were in fear of coming and going.” However, McClinton testified that “he [could] not verify that it was someone from management” on the phone and he did not get the caller’s name or telephone number. It was also unclear whether the caller witnessed the alleged drug activity herself or if she was only told about it by residents. 1 1 On direct exam, McClinton said that the caller told him it was a personal safety issue and “[she was] in fear of -- and also the residents of the apartment complex were in fear of coming and going . . . in the parking lot.” Based on this testimony, it appears that the caller was reporting on drug activity that residents in the complex had brought to her attention. Later, …
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