Weapons query upheld

Thursday, Dec. 22, 2005 | 7:56 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A federal appeals court ruled Monday that police officers who make traffic stops have a right to question drivers about weapons to protect themselves.

In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of Mark L. Willis, who was sentenced in Las Vegas to 33 months on his conditional guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a gun.

Willis maintained that police found the weapon during an illegal search.

The decision, written by Judge Jay Bybee of Las Vegas, said Metro Police Officer Carl Boehmer had "reasonable suspicion" to stop Willis for traffic violations after witnessing an illegal U-turn and a rapid turn at excessive speed in December 2002.

Boehmer and Officer D. Miller stopped Willis' vehicle and ordered him to get out of the car and take his hands out of his pockets. Boehmer asked Willis, "Do you have anything on you I should know about?"

Willis replied he had a gun and gave permission for the officer to look in his jacket where a .25 caliber handgun was found. He was booked on the weapons charge, but no traffic citation was issued.

Willis had been convicted of crimes in Hawaii and Colorado.

Bybee said Boehmer "did not take extreme measures" but merely questioned Willis. "Once Willis informed the officers that he was carrying a firearm, the officers were entitled to seize the firearm in order to avoid any possibility that Willis would use it against them." The court rejected the argument by Willis that the evidence should have been suppressed.

Judge William Fletcher dissented, saying Boehmer never presented any specific facts to show Willis broke any laws that justified a traffic stop.

Fletcher said Boehmer "made clear in his testimony that he suspected Willis of criminal activity."

"After stopping Willis, Officer Boehmer never mentioned any traffic violation or issued any traffic citation," the dissenting judge wrote.

Fletcher said the case should be returned to U.S. District Judge Philip Pro for a hearing on whether the gun should have been suppressed, given the view the traffic stop was not justified in the first place.

Cy Ryan may be reached at (775) 687 5032 or at cy@lasvegassun.com