United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit No. 21-1715 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

CHRISTOPHER RADFORD, Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. No. 1:18-cr-00395-TWP-DLP-4 — Tanya Walton Pratt, Chief Judge.

SUBMITTED JANUARY 20, 2022* — DECIDED JUNE 30, 2022

Before ROVNER, BRENNAN, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges. ROVNER, Circuit Judge. Christopher Radford pled guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled

* On January 6, 2022, we granted the parties’ joint motion to waive oral argument. Thus, the appeal is submitted on the briefs and record. Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); Cir. R. 34(e). 2 No. 21-1715 substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). As part of his plea agreement, he retained his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress in which he challenged a traffic stop and accompanying search of his person. We affirm. I. On November 19, 2018, the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) was conducting surveillance on a suspected drug house in the vicinity of Indianapolis, Indiana. Detective John Maples, a fifteen-year veteran of the nearby Brownsburg Police Department and an officer for the United Drug Task Force, was assisting the DEA that day. As a member of the task force, Maples often conducted traffic stops to investigate drug trafficking on routes that passed through the Brownsburg area. Maples estimated that, throughout his career, he had con- ducted hundreds and perhaps thousands of traffic stops. At approximately 2:15 p.m. on that day, Maples was monitoring traffic on Rockville Road when DEA agents at the surveillance site reported that a white Audi had just departed from the suspected drug house and was heading towards Rockville Road. Surveillance units followed the Audi and watched it enter and leave a strip mall parking lot without stopping to park. The car then proceeded onto Rockville Road and Maples began to monitor it for possible traffic violations. From his position in an LA Fitness parking lot on the north side of Rockville Road, Maples observed the Audi pass him at approximately 40 to 45 miles per hour, following the car in front of it by less than a car length. He decided to pull the driver of the Audi over for the infraction of following too closely, in violation of Ind. Code § 9-21-8-14. Maples pulled No. 21-1715 3 into traffic and once he was able to maneuver behind the Audi, he activated his flashing lights and followed the Audi into the parking lot of a PNC Bank. The Audi pulled into a parking spot at the bank and Maples stopped behind the Audi, block- ing it from behind. As Maples approached the Audi on the driver’s side of the car, he noticed the driver making “quick and furtive move- ments with his hands” in the right side of the driver’s seat. As the driver turned to exit the car, he appeared startled that Maples was standing at his door. When the driver, the defen- dant Christopher Radford, began to open the door, Maples pulled the door open from the outside and saw Radford reach for a cell phone. Maples directed him to place the phone on the dashboard and exit the vehicle. Radford did not initially comply but reached for a second phone. Maples again directed Radford to place the phones on the dashboard and exit the car. Radford then complied. As Radford exited the car, he reached for his belt area and continued making quick movements with his hands while holding his left arm close to his body. After Radford reached towards his beltline with his left hand, Maples commenced a pat-down search which we will descr