United States v. McKinnon

In February 2010, Houston Police Officer Salam Zia (“Zia”) stopped a vehicle driven by Alexander Frank McKinnon (“McKinnon”), a felon, for an expired registration sticker. After McKinnon failed to produce a driver’s license upon request, Zia placed him under arrest. Based on the Houston Police Department’s (“HPD”) towing policy, Zia ordered the vehicle to be towed and conducted an inventory search of the vehicle. During the inventory search, Zia discovered a loaded revolver under the driver’s side seat. Thereafter, McKinnon was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm and…