United States v. Gonzales

MEMORANDUM **

Nathan Mitchell Gonzales appeals his conviction, following a conditional guilty plea, for unlawful possession of a fully automatic weapon under 18 U.S.C. § § 922(o) and 924(a)(2). Gonzales contends that the district court erred by denying his motion to suppress the machine pistol found on his person because officers lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop. 1 We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

We review de novo the denial of a motion to suppress evidence. United States v. Davis, 530 F.3d 1069, 1077 (9th Cir.2008). We also review de novo the district court’s determination of reasonable suspicion. Id. We review any underlying factual findings for clear error. Id.

The police had reasonable suspicion to stop and detain Gonzales. Within fifteen minutes after a Las Vegas armed bank robbery, the signal from a B-pack 2 embedded within the stolen money led Metropolitan Police Officer Davideit to conclude based on the signal strength that it came from one of two possible vehicles located next to his patrol car—a black pickup truck and a teal Chrysler 300 with darkly tinted windows, chrome wheels, and a rear bumper cracked on…