PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 17-1901 _____________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. AMIN DE CASTRO, Appellant _____________ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Crim. No. 2-15-cr-00114-001) District Judge: Honorable Juan R. Sanchez ______________ Argued April 9, 2018 ______________ Before: CHAGARES, VANASKIE, and FISHER, Circuit Judges (Opinion Filed: October 3, 2018) Jacob Schuman, Esq. [ARGUED] Robert Epstein, Esq. Maranna J. Meehan, Esq. Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 601 Walnut Street The Curtis Center, Suite 540 West Philadelphia, PA 19106 Counsel for Appellant Robert A. Zauzmer, Esq. [ARGUED] Bernadette A. McKeon, Esq. Virgil B. Walker, Esq. Office of United States Attorney 615 Chestnut Street Suite 1250 Philadelphia, PA 19106 Counsel for Appellee ______________ OPINION OF THE COURT ______________ VANASKIE, Circuit Judge. Appellant Amin De Castro challenges the District Court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence and statements obtained by a police officer during a street encounter, arguing that he was unreasonably seized when the officer asked him to remove his hands from his pockets. Discerning no error in the District Court’s finding that the officer’s request was not a seizure, we will affirm the judgment of conviction entered on April 12, 2017. 2 I. During the early evening hours of September 22, 2014, an anonymous source called 911 to report a Hispanic male pointing a gun at juveniles outside a vacant flower shop on the 1800 block of North 31st Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The suspect was reportedly wearing a gray shirt, gray pants, and a bucket hat. Philadelphia Police Officer John Mulqueeney, who had been assigned to that area for approximately thirteen years and knew about the drug and firearm activity prevalent there, was dispatched minutes after the call was placed. He stopped his cruiser approximately fifteen to twenty feet from De Castro and his neighbor, who were speaking outside of the vacant flower shop. De Castro was wearing a light gray bucket hat, a gray striped shirt, and gray camouflage pants. As Officer Mulqueeney exited his car and approached the men, De Castro turned toward Officer Mulqueeney. “At a distance of approximately [five to ten] feet, Officer Mulqueeney used a polite, conversational, and non-threatening tone to ask De Castro if he would remove his hands from his pockets.” (App. at 11.) De Castro complied, revealing a green pistol grip protruding from his pants pocket. Officer Mulqueeney asked De Castro to raise his hands higher, and removed a loaded firearm from De Castro’s pocket. When asked if he had identification or a permit to carry the firearm, De Castro replied that he had neither, but that he had a passport from the Dominican Republic. Officer Mulqueeney handcuffed De Castro and frisked him, finding in De Castro’s pocket a loaded magazine containing ammunition that matched the firearm. Additional officers arrived on-scene as Officer Mulqueeney placed De Castro under arrest. 3 Following a trial, De Castro was convicted of being an ...
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