Defendant\u2019s search incident of his car for proof of insurance was without probable cause. As for reasonable suspicion, his change in demeanor once he found out a search of the car was going to occur didn\u2019t contribute to reasonable suspicion. Also, \u201cwhile the Court will consider Defendant’s unremarkably friendly demeanor in its analysis of the totality of the circumstances, it limits the weight afforded to this factor and finds that it carries only minimal, if any, significance.\u201d On the totality of the other information, the unspecific information just didn\u2019t add up to reasonable suspicion. United States v. Baray, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109108 (D. Colo. June 9, 2025)*:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The record shows that the following circumstances were known to Corporal Taylor at the time he chose to frisk Mr. Sigala-Baray, based on secondhand, generalized, or uncorroborated information: (1) he knew, generally, that Mr. Sigala-Baray had been arrested for “violent felonies,” but did not know what the felonies were or when Defendant was arrested; (2) he knew, generally, that Mr. Sigala-Baray was a gang member, but did not know the details; and (3) he knew, generally, that Mr. Sigala-Baray was “known” to carry a gun, but in his own law enforcement encounter with Mr. Sigala-Baray, Defendant was not armed. In addition, Mr. Sigala-Baray (4) was generally, but unremarkably, friendly in the few minutes Corporal Taylor spoke with him; and (5) was driving a Ford Expedition with license plates that were (erroneously) tied to a different car, but Ms. Sarmiento stated that the car was hers and that she carried insurance for the car. And with respect to the general atmosphere of the stop, the Court observes that (6) the traffic stop was not made in a high-crime area, [Hearing Tr. at 4:11-16]; (7) there were multiple officers at the scene, [Doc. 18-2 at 19:54:10, 19:56:17]; and (8) the stop occurred on a public street just before 8:00 p.m. and the sun had not yet set,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defendant\u2019s search incident of his car for proof of insurance was without probable cause. As for reasonable suspicion, his change in demeanor once he found out a search of the car was going to occur didn\u2019t contribute to reasonable suspicion. … Continue reading