IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 01-30566
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
DAMION S. LYONS,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
(00-CR-150-ALL-N)
January 8, 2003
Before BARKSDALE, DEMOSS, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Having entered a conditional guilty plea to possession of,
with intent to distribute, cocaine, Damion S. Lyons appeals the
district court’s denial of his motion to suppress his confession
and other evidence obtained by law enforcement officers during his
apprehension and arrest. He contends that the district court erred
in crediting the testimony of the law enforcement officers and,
therefore, that its factual findings were clearly erroneous.
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
Because the district court’s factual findings rested on its
credibility assessment of Lyons and the law enforcement officers,
its factual findings are accorded “special deference”. See
Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 574-75 (1985);
United States v. Castro, 166 F.3d 728, 731 (5th Cir.)(en banc),
cert. denied, 528 U.S. 827 (1999). Lyons must demonstrate that the
officers’ version of the events was incoherent or facially
implausible, contradicted by extrinsic evidence, or internally
inconsistent. See United States v. Gillyard, 261 F.3d 506, 509
(5th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 122 S. Ct. 841 (2002). Although
Lyons attempts to discredit the officers’ account of the events, he
falls short of satisfying the highly deferential standard of review
applicable to the district court’s findings.
AFFIRMED