United States v. Ingram

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  No. 01-4780 KEITH DEMOND INGRAM, Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Rock Hill. Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., Chief District Judge. (CR-00-783) Submitted: August 15, 2002 Decided: August 30, 2002 Before MOTZ and GREGORY, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. COUNSEL Russell D. Ghent, LEATHERWOOD, WALKER, TODD & MANN, P.C., Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellant. J. Preston Strom, Jr., United States Attorney, Marshall Prince, Assistant United States Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee. 2 UNITED STATES v. INGRAM Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). OPINION PER CURIAM: Keith Demond Ingram appeals his convictions for armed robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a) (2000); using, carrying, brandish- ing, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) (2000); and unlawful possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (2000). Ingram was sentenced as an armed career criminal. He received a 240 month sentence for armed robbery, an 84 month sentence for possession of a firearm dur- ing a crime of violence, and an 18 month sentence for unlawful pos- session of a firearm. The sentences were imposed consecutively and totaled a 342 month term of imprisonment. Prior to trial, Ingram filed a suppression motion, claiming the police officer who stopped the car in which he was an occupant had no reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop the vehicle. The district court denied the motion. After careful review of the record, we agree with the district court’s decision. Under the facts of this case, the officer possessed reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle that quickly developed into probable cause. See United States v. Hen- sley, 469 U.S. 221, 229 (1985); United States v. Moore, 817 F.2d 1105, 1107 (4th Cir. 1987). Ingram also claims the prosecutor’s comment during trial concern- ing his post-arrest silence warranted a mistrial. We find that the court’s curative instruction provided a sufficient remedy for the pros- ecutor’s isolated remark. See Williams v. Zahradnick, 632 F.2d 353, 361-62 (4th Cir. 1980). Ingram also claims the district court should have considered South Carolina’s constitutional provisions in ruling on his suppression motion, attacks the sufficiency of the evidence used to prove he pos- sessed a firearm, and argues he should have been subject to state pros- UNITED STATES v. INGRAM 3 ecution only. We reject these claims as meritless. We grant Ingram’s motion to file a supplemental pro se brief but reject the arguments raised therein. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. We dis- pense with oral argument, because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED