United States v. Marshall Lee Vaughan

The defendant was charged with possession of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844, tried, and found guilty. He has taken this appeal, raising only the issue as to the refusal of the trial court to suppress evidence secured by a search of defendant’s automobile.

The incident which gave rise to the search arose when defendant Vaughan, a civilian, approached one of the main entry gates to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. This is a large base with thousands of civilian employees. Although the pickup truck that he was driving had a base decal on the windshield, he was stopped by the gate…