PUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 22-4088

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff – Appellee,

v.

CURTIS DAVIS,

Defendant – Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg. Gina M. Groh, District Judge. (3:19-cr-00065-GMG-RWT-3)

Argued: October 24, 2023 Decided: January 25, 2024

Before DIAZ, Chief Judge, TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge, and Jamar K. WALKER, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge Walker wrote the opinion, in which Chief Judge Diaz and Senior Judge Traxler joined.

ARGUED: Robert Cameron Stone, Jr., ROBERT C. STONE, JR. PLLC, Martinsburg, West Virginia, for Appellant. Eleanor F. Hurney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Martinsburg, West Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: William Ihlenfeld, United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Wheeling, West Virginia, for Appellee. USCA4 Appeal: 22-4088 Doc: 50 Filed: 01/25/2024 Pg: 2 of 16

WALKER, District Judge:

As officers were executing a search warrant inside a residence, they observed the

appellant, Curtis Davis, attempt to place baggies of controlled substances into an air vent.

Officers searched Davis and discovered more baggies of controlled substances. They also

seized firearms, cash, cell phones, and additional controlled substances from the residence.

Davis was arrested and charged with drug and firearm offenses. He filed a motion to

suppress, arguing that the search warrant was not supported by probable cause. The district

court denied Davis’s motion. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm.

I.

On June 11, 2019, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and

Explosives (“ATF”) were surveilling Ray’s Guns, a firearms store. JA38. At some point

prior, ATF learned that an individual named Derrick Hough had purchased 15 firearms in

the preceding year. Id. ATF also discovered that Hough was planning to pick up three

pistols he had previously purchased at Ray’s Guns. Id. The same day he acquired those

three pistols, Hough also bought an additional pistol. Id. To complete both transactions,

Hough filled out ATF Form 4473 and provided an “inaccurate address.” Id. When

purchasing the firearms, Hough drove a rental car and paid in cash, which ATF believed

“to be indicative of potential firearms trafficking.” Id.

After Hough departed from Ray’s Guns on June 11, 2019, he drove to the parking

lot of a Sheetz gas station. JA38. Agents saw a man “briefly” enter and then exit Hough’s

vehicle. Id. Hough drove away from Sheetz and to the residence that would later become

the target of the challenged search warrant (hereinafter, “the residence”). Id. ATF agents

2 USCA4 Appeal: 22-4088 Doc: 50 Filed: 01/25/2024 Pg: 3 of 16

pulled in behind Hough’s vehicle and turned on their emergency lights, at which point

Hough exited the driveway and “almost” struck ATF vehicles. Id. ATF agents followed

Hough with their emergency lights and sirens on, but Hough continued driving. Id.

Eventually, Hough struck an ATF vehicle and was stopped. JA38–39.

Orville Darby, who had previously been convicted of a felony, wa

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