Cameron Odom, 28, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, until a federal judge reviewed the basis for the police search behind the charge.
OAKLAND — Federal prosecutors have dismissed a felony gun charge against an East Bay man after a federal judge ruled that a California Highway Patrol officer unlawfully frisked him, leading to the discovery of a pistol, court records show.with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and faced up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted. But on July 14, four months after U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar ruled the search of Odom was unconstitutional, prosecutors dismissed the chage.
In a March ruling, Tigar found that CHP Officer Xavier Guajardo had no reasonable suspicion to believe Odom was armed after Odom was pulled over for allegedly driving 92 miles per hour on Interstate 580 in San Leandro. Tigar wrote there was “no question” Guajardo’s conduct “directly led to the violation of the defendant’s constitutional right.”
“ frisked Odom even though the ‘totality of the circumstances’ failed to support reasonable suspicion that Odom was currently armed and dangerous,” Tigar wrote, later adding, “therefore, suppression is appropriate in this case.” Federal prosecutors defended Guajardo’s actions, writing in a court document that Odom acted nervous, gave inconsistent information, and that the time of the traffic stop — 2:23 a.m. — added to the potential security risk. They also wrote that Guajardo looked up Odom’s criminal history and found he had a prior arrest on suspicion of a weapons charge.
“Because law enforcement would need to interact with Odom in order to tow the vehicle, a pat-down for officer safety was justified and supported by reasonable suspicion,” assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis James wrote.
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