UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ No. 23-1898 > │ v. │ │ SHAWN LAMAR PEAKE-WRIGHT, JR., │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan at Grand Rapids. No. 1:22-cr-00173-1—Jane M. Beckering, District Judge.

Argued: December 11, 2024

Decided and Filed: January 16, 2025

Before: GILMAN, READLER, and BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judges.

_________________

COUNSEL ARGUED: Edward M. Heindel, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Stephen P. Baker, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Edward M. Heindel, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Stephen P. Baker, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee. _________________

OPINION _________________

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. Shawn Lamar Peake-Wright, Jr. moved to suppress evidence that a gun was recovered from one of his jacket pockets during a traffic stop. The district court denied his motion. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM. No. 23-1898 United States v. Peake-Wright Page 2

I. BACKGROUND A. The stop

On a bitterly cold night in December 2022, Peake-Wright was riding in the passenger seat of a car driven by his friend Kimberly Manney in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Sgt. Timothy Millard was patrolling downtown Kalamazoo at the time. When Manney’s car passed him, Sgt. Millard saw the passenger, later identified as Peake-Wright, turn his head away from the officer’s line of sight.

Sgt. Millard ran a computer check on the license plate of the car and discovered that the car was registered to Manney, who had a suspended driver’s license and an outstanding warrant for her arrest. This caused Sgt. Millard to pull over the car into a nearby driveway and ask Manney for her driver’s license. Manney informed him that she had only a learner’s permit.

At this point, Sgt. Millard recognized Peake-Wright. He knew from prior encounters that Peake-Wright had an extensive criminal history. Sgt. Millard took identification from both Peake-Wright and Manney to see if Peake-Wright had a valid driver’s license, which would allow Manney to legally drive with her learner’s permit. He then stepped away from the car to run a computer check on Peake-Wright’s driver’s license and to research Manney’s open arrest warrant.

Several minutes later, Officer Timothy Prichard arrived on the scene and knocked on the passenger-side window. Peake-Wright did not immediately respond, but instead removed his jacket, even though the temperature outside was bitterly cold, the car was no longer running, and the backseat window on the driver’s side was rolled down. He then opened the passenger-side door, explaining that the passenger-side window did not roll down, and stood up outside. Both officers asked him to sit back down multiple times. Peake-Wright continued standing, asking: “[W]hat’s the problem