UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > No. 22-3073 │ v. │ │ AARON LOINES, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland. No. 1:20-cr-00293-2—Donald C. Nugent, District Judge.

Argued: October 27, 2022

Decided and Filed: January 6, 2023

Before: COLE, CLAY, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges.

_________________

COUNSEL ARGUED: John J. Spellacy, JOHN J. SPELLACY & ASSOCIATES, CO., Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Matthew B. Kall, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: John J. Spellacy, JOHN J. SPELLACY & ASSOCIATES, CO., Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Matthew B. Kall, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee. _________________

OPINION _________________

CLAY, Circuit Judge. Defendant Aaron Loines appeals the district court’s denial of his pretrial motion to suppress preceding his guilty plea to controlled substance offenses in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C); and a firearm offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. No. 22-3073 United States v. Loines Page 2

§ 924(c)(1)(A). For the reasons set forth below, the Court REVERSES the district court’s denial of Loines’ motion to suppress, VACATES his conviction, and REMANDS the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

In 2020, Detective Donald Kopchak of the Cleveland Police Department was aiding in an investigation into potential drug trafficking activities by Mekhel Rivers, who was subsequently charged as a co-defendant. Police investigators suspected Rivers of distributing heroin and fentanyl. During the investigation, on April 21, 2020, Kopchak observed Rivers leaving a house on East 221st Street, in Euclid, Ohio, driving a red Nissan Altima to a meeting place to sell drugs to an informant, and then returning to the same Euclid house. After numerous days of surveillance, investigators determined that Rivers lived at the East 221st Street house, obtained a search warrant for the house, and executed the warrant on April 30, 2020.

After arrving at the house, while executing the search warrant, Kopchak again observed the red Nissan Altima parked on the street near the residence, bearing the same license plate number he previously observed. Kopchak walked up to the passenger side of the car, cupped a hand to the tinted window,1 and leaned in to attempt to see into the vehicle. While leaning against the vehicle and looking through the window, Kopchak allegedly observed a Black and Mild cigar wrapper and “a folded piece of paper” in the center console of the car. (Tr. of Mot. to Suppress Hr’g, R. 142, Page ID #729). From this vantage point, Kopchak claims he was also able to view a small plastic bag that he immediately identified as “a