United States v. Edwin Santiago
Court
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
Decided
June 6, 2025
Jurisdiction
F
Practice Areas
Case Summary
RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 25a0149p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > No. 24-5762 │ v. │ │ EDWIN J. SANTIAGO, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville. No. 3:22-cr-00293-1—Eli J. Richardson, District Judge. Decided and Filed: June 6, 2025 Before: GRIFFIN, LARSEN, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ON BRIEF: Manuel B. Russ, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellant. Brooke C. Farzad, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellee. _________________ OPINION _________________ LARSEN, Circuit Judge. A jury convicted Edwin Santiago of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced him to a within-Guidelines sentence of 56 months’ imprisonment. Santiago challenges his conviction and sentence. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM. No. 24-5762 United States v. Santiago Page 2 I. On September 21, 2021, Detectives Dustin Tidwell and Justin Miller of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department went in plain clothes to Auto Market, a used car dealership, to serve a subpoena. While they were standing outside the dealership, a car emitting “the obvious odor of marijuana” pulled into the parking lot. R. 172, Trial Tr., PageID 950. The car passed within fifteen to twenty feet of the detectives and parked four or five spaces away from them. When the driver opened his car door to exit, the smell of marijuana grew stronger. No one else was in the car. The officers later identified the driver as Edwin Santiago. As Santiago entered the Auto Market, the detectives saw a pistol on his waistband. Though open carry is legal in Tennessee, possessing a firearm while under the influence of marijuana is not. The detectives suspected Santiago of possessing the firearm while under the influence and decided to detain him once he exited the store. They put on police vests and turned on their body cameras in preparation for the encounter. The bodycam footage reveals the following: After Santiago left the store, the detectives approached him, and Miller instructed him to keep his hands up. Miller then began to handcuff Santiago, while Santiago repeatedly asked, “What’s going on?” R. 26-1, Detective Tidwell’s Bodycam Footage, 00:30–00:50. Tidwell responded, “It reeks of weed, you just pulled up here, okay? It reeks of weed. . . . [Y]ou’ve got a gun on your hip, man.” Id. at 00:43–00:50. Miller, meanwhile, pulled the pistol out of Santiago’s waistband. At this point, Santiago denied ownership of the pistol and shifted his body slightly; Miller grabbed his arm and yelled, “Stop!” Id. at 00:48–00:51. The officers then handcuffed Santiago. Trial testimony revealed that, after handcuffing Santiago, Miller patted him down, took Santiago’s wallet out of his pocket, and retrieved Santiago’s ID. A background check disclosed that Santiago was a felon. So Miller formally placed him under arrest. A grand jury indicted Santiago on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Santiago moved to suppress all the evidence acquired on September 21, arguing that his detention, arrest, and search were unconstitutional. The district court held a suppression hearing, where Detectives Tidwell and Miller testified to the facts No. 24-5762 United States v. Santiago Page 3 recounted above. The manager of the Auto Market, who witnessed the arrest, also testified that he smelled an odor like marijuana around Santiago and his car. The court noted that possessing marijuana is a crime in Tennessee, and it explained that it found the detectives’ testimony about the smell of marijuana credible. That odor, which
Case Summary
AI-generated comprehensive summary with legal analysis
F.4th ---, 2025 WL 1510857 (3d Cir. May 28, 2025), United States v. McCallister, 39 F.4th 374 (6th Cir. 2022), Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014) generated_at: "2025-06-06T20:05:44.925560" processing_method: chunking chunks_analyzed: 2
Case Overview
In the case of United States v. Edwin Santiago, decided on June 6, 2025, by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the court reviewed Santiago's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The appeal centered on the legality of evidence obtained during his arrest, particularly concerning the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Legal Issues
The court addressed several critical legal questions:
- Did the detectives have reasonable suspicion to detain Santiago?
- Was there probable cause for his arrest based on the smell of marijuana?
- Was Santiago's within-Guidelines sentence substantively unreasonable?
Factual Background
Key facts of the case include:
- Detectives Tidwell and Miller detected a strong odor of marijuana emanating from Santiago's vehicle, which prompted their investigation.
- Upon detaining Santiago, a background check revealed he was a felon, which was pivotal to the charges against him.
- Santiago argued that the circumstances did not warrant the actions taken by law enforcement, particularly the search and seizure of evidence.
Court's Analysis
The court's reasoning was rooted in established legal principles:
- The strong odor of marijuana localized to Santiago provided sufficient reasonable suspicion for a Terry stop. This aligns with the precedent set in Terry v. Ohio, which allows for investigatory stops based on reasonable suspicion.
- The subsequent discovery of Santiago's status as a felon established probable cause for his arrest, validating the search and seizure of evidence. The court referenced District of Columbia v. Wesby to support the legality of warrantless arrests based on probable cause.
- The court also addressed the substantive reasonableness of Santiago's sentence, affirming that the district court properly considered the § 3553(a) factors in its decision-making process.
Holdings and Decision
The court's rulings included:
- The denial of Santiago's motion to suppress evidence was upheld, affirming the legality of the stop and arrest based on the circumstances presented.
- The court affirmed the constitutionality of the arrest and search, as well as the reasonableness of Santiago's within-Guidelines sentence.
Legal Precedents
The court cited several important precedents:
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968): Established the standard for lawful investigatory stops.
- Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (2009): Addressed the constitutionality of searches incident to lawful arrests.
- United States v. Outlaw, --- F.4th ---, 2025 WL 1510857 (3d Cir. May 28, 2025): Supported the conclusion that the smell of marijuana can establish probable cause.
- Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014): Confirmed the constitutionality of searches incident to arrest.
Practical Implications
This ruling has significant implications for law enforcement and legal practitioners:
- It reinforces the principle that the smell of marijuana can provide probable cause for arrest, impacting how officers approach similar situations in the future.
- The decision underscores the importance of adhering to established sentencing guidelines, providing a framework for evaluating the reasonableness of sentences in criminal cases.
Overall, United States v. Edwin Santiago serves as a critical reference for understanding the intersection of Fourth Amendment rights, probable cause, and sentencing considerations in criminal law.
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Status
Decided
Date Decided
June 6, 2025
Jurisdiction
F
Court Type
appellate
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