United States v. Danny Virgil Malone

We consider whether federal agents had reasonable suspicion of drug courier activity when they briefly detained Danny Malone and his bag at the airport. We affirm the district court’s well reasoned decision to deny his motion to suppress and we uphold the constitutionality of the sentence.

BACKGROUND

Two Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents assigned to the Seattle-Tacoma Airport observed Malone arriving from Los Angeles on a Continental Airlines flight. He first attracted their attention because he fit the “L.A. gang-member” profile. They observed that he was a young, black male, wore a blue jacket of the favorite color of one Los Angeles gang, traveled from Los Angeles on an airline favored by gang members transporting drugs, carried only a plastic shoe bag, and was nervous.

Based on these gang profile observations, the agents suspected Malone of transporting drugs. As he walked past them, he gave one agent a “very hard look” and proceeded quickly through the concourse. They followed Malone and observed him glance repeatedly around the terminal quickly and furtively. He turned completely around on the escalator to look at persons behind him. After stopping at a…