Page 29 - TPA Journal January February 2024

the information relied upon by the police was too tinguishing characteristics. It had a dark-colored bed
generic: Alvarez and United States v. Jaquez, 421 F.3d cover; it had a marred paint job on the driver’s side;
338 (5th Cir. 2005) (per curiam). We find both distin- and it had several distinctive stickers on the back win-
guishable. dow. Together, these attributes narrowed the field of
possible trucks to a very small number.” Likewise,
In Alvarez, the Fifth Circuit reversed the district officers located the truck and obtained Alkheqani’s ID
court’s finding of reasonable suspicion. Because the photo, and he substantially matched the description of
case involved “completed criminal activity” rather
the suspect: “in his 20s, with a dark complexion, and
than “a report of ongoing or very recent criminal activ- facial hair.” Thus, Alvarez and Jacquez do not entitle
ity[,] . . . the description of a Hispanic male who had defendant to relief.
once ridden a bicycle with large handlebars in a gener-
al area at some unknown time in the past [could not] Rather, this case more closely resembles those cases
justify the stop of Alvarez.”. Further, the majority also cited by Alvarez and Jaquez which found reasonable
found the “subject’s physical description” to be “too suspicion.
general and vague” when “[o]ther than race and sex,
[the officers] knew of no descriptors” and when We next reject Alkheqani’s complaints about the dis-
descriptions of the suspect as “Hispanic” meant little in crepancies in the witnesses’ descriptions of the perpe-
a predominately Hispanic or Latino community so that trator and vehicle. Alkheqani relies on Rias, where the
appellate court found no reasonable suspicion when an
the description “fit too many people . . .” As to the
bicycle, “‘[l]arge handlebars’ pales in comparison to officer stopped two black men in a black Chevrolet on
vehicle descriptions that have created or contributed to the grounds that, a few weeks before, “two black males
reasonable suspicion,” and there was no evidence in a black or blue Chevrolet were suspects in a series
establishing that the “handlebars were sufficiently dis- of Farm Store robberies,” because, inter alia, the “offi-
cer was unsure whether the automobile . . . was black
tinctive to create reasonable suspicion.”
or blue” and “the only description of the robbers was
Likewise, in Jaquez, the Fifth Circuit reversed the that they were black males[.]” But Rias also does not
lower court’s denial of a motion to suppress and found entitle Alkheqani to relief. Numerous other appellate
reasonable suspicion lacking. The officer admitted at courts have recognized that minor inconsistencies in
the hearing “that at the time she stopped Jaquez’s car witness descriptions are not automatically fatal to a
she had no specific information about the car reported finding of probable cause, and these cases apply a for-
to have been involved in the ‘shots fired’ incident other tiori here, as reasonable suspicion demands even less
than the fact that it was red; she had no further descrip- than probable cause.
tion of that vehicle or its occupants.” Jaquez was
stopped “only because (1) he was driving a red car, (2) As amply established above, the corroboration here
went well beyond eye witness descriptions of the
in the general vicinity of the incident reported 15 min-
utes earlier, (3) late at night, (4) in an area known for truck’s color and included video showing the truck’s
its high crime rate.” The Court found, “The sparse and highly distinctive features and Alkheqani’s ID photo.
broadly generic information provided by the dispatch- Thus, the minor contradictions highlighted by
er, without more, was insufficient to support a deter- Alkheqani do not warrant reversal.
mination of reasonable suspicion, as required under
Finally, we turn to Alkheqani’s last argument about
Terry.” Unlike Alvarez and Jacquez, this case does not
reasonable suspicion. “A less specific description may
involve vague and generalized descriptions of
support reasonable suspicion where there is temporal
Alkheqani or his vehicle. Alkheqani’s truck was iden-
and geographic proximity to recent criminal activity.”
tified from witness descriptions and surveillance
The district court relied on temporal and physical prox-
footage taken near the scene of the crime. As the dis-
imity to support its decision. Specifically, the lower
trict court explained, while trucks are certainly com-
court noted that Alkheqani’s vehicle was found “only
mon in Texas, “the truck in the video had several dis-

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