CA5 & AR: 34+ minute waits for drug dog without reasonable suspicion on totality

Defendant’s 40 minute detention waiting for a drug dog was without reasonable suspicion. None of the individual factors of reasonable suspicion relied upon by the government was reasonable suspicion in itself and even not on the totality. Oklahoma plates in Northern Texas, visiting a house where a drug deal occurred the day before, and staying only 20 minutes [wouldn’t a drug deal have been far less?] The forty minute detention was unreasonable. United States v. Spears, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 1032 (5th Cir. Jan. 21, 2016).

Defendant’s 34 minute detention waiting for the drug dog was without reasonable suspicion. Defendant had picked up a package from the USPS that was for another person, but he had the notice card and signed for it, signing the other name, and the package smelled of dryer sheets, and the address of the shipper was suspect in the USPS database, but it was hardly complete. No RS even on the totality. He was stopped on a traffic offense, but nothing happened toward a search of the box because there was no probable cause to search it or the car, so the police called for a drug dog which took another 15 minutes to arrive. Defendant’s nervousness wasn’t a factor because he wasn’t nervous until the police announced a drug dog was called for. MackIntrush v. State, 2016 Ark. 14 (Jan. 21, 2016) (4-3).