MS: Def’s evasiveness during a patdown justified it being more intrusive

Defendant’s evasiveness during a patdown justified it being more intrusive. “Casey’s argument seemingly ignores the circumstances that led to the retrieval of the drugs. First, as Deputy Putnam began his first attempt at a weapons pat-down, Casey suddenly took his hand off the back windshield and reached into his pants pocket. This action required Putnam to place Casey in handcuffs so that Putnam could attempt to complete the pat-down in a safer manner. Putnam then continued with the pat-down, and when he patted Casey’s right thigh for a weapon, Putnam felt an object that he thought may have been a weapon. But Putnam was not able to dispel his suspicions of a weapon because just as Putnam felt what he believed to be a weapon, Casey resisted and attempted to pull away. Indeed, video of the traffic stop irrefutably shows Casey’s evasiveness.” Casey v. State, 2020 Miss. LEXIS 328 (Sept. 17, 2020).