UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > No. 21-5209 │ v. │ │ TAURUS COOPER, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee at Memphis. No. 2:19-cr-20339-1—Thomas L. Parker, District Judge.

Argued: October 20, 2021

Decided and Filed: February 3, 2022

Before: BATCHELDER, LARSEN, and READLER, Circuit Judges. _________________

COUNSEL ARGUED: Michael J. Stengel, MICHAEL J. STENGEL, P.C., Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellant. Naya Bedini, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Michael J. Stengel, MICHAEL J. STENGEL, P.C., Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellant. Naya Bedini, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellee. _________________

OPINION _________________

LARSEN, Circuit Judge. Taurus Cooper pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), but reserved the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress the gun underlying the charge. On appeal, Cooper contends that the district court erred in applying the inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule. Because the district court No. 21-5209 United States v. Cooper Page 2

focused on the wrong legal test, we VACATE the district court’s judgment and REMAND for further proceedings.

I.

Several law enforcement agencies executed a warrant for Cooper’s arrest on suspicion of firearms and narcotics charges. Among them was the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department Fugitive Apprehension Team, which had been called in to assist. At a pre-arrest meeting, the Team learned that Cooper was known to be a high-ranking gang member; and the Team was shown a Facebook photo of Cooper holding a Glock handgun with a fully loaded high-capacity magazine. Officers from the Team and other police agencies traveled to the home of Cooper’s girlfriend, Angel Walton, where they expected to find Cooper.

When Officer Joshua Fox knocked on the door, Walton answered. Through the doorway, Fox saw Cooper sitting on the living room couch. Concerned about spooking Cooper into fleeing, Fox showed Walton a photograph of another individual (someone he knew was not at Walton’s home) and asked if that person was there. Walton, as expected, said “no.” Fox nonetheless asked whether he could come inside to look for the individual, and, according to Fox’s later testimony, Walton agreed.1 Fox proceeded to arrest Cooper while the rest of the officers—at least five more—rushed into the home and spread out to conduct a protective sweep. Aiming to discover any armed confederates who might ambush them, the officers swiftly checked each room of the house, “wherever a body c[ould] hide.” Jeffrey Jensen, the officer checking the back bedroom, noticed a lump in the mattress, flipped it over, and discovered the Glock handgun depicted in Cooper’s Facebook post.

As soon as Jensen called ou