United States v. Marcus Thornton

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge DIANA GRIBBON MOTZ wrote the opinion, in which Judge WIDENER and Judge WILLIAMS joined.

OPINION

DIANA GRIBBON MOTZ, Circuit Judge:

A jury convicted Marcus Thornton of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and two firearm offenses. On appeal, he challenges only the district court’s refusal to suppress a firearm found in his automobile, maintaining that it was not legally obtained pursuant to a “search incident to arrest.” For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I

At a pretrial suppression hearing, the parties produced the following evidence.

On July…