United States v. Felton ( 2023 )

Case: 21-30769 Document: 00516734381 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/02/2023
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
____________ FILED
May 2, 2023
No. 21-30769 Lyle W. Cayce
____________ Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Derrick Felton,
Defendant—Appellant.
______________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
USDC No. 6:18-CR-185
______________________________
Before Elrod, Ho, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam: *
Derrick Felton appeals the denial of his motion to suppress narcotics
evidence. Felton and his co-defendant, Alfonzo Johnlouis, argued that this
evidence had been seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment following an
illegal search of a parcel by a United States Postal Service letter carrier.
In co-defendant Johnlouis’s case, our court upheld the denial of the
motion to suppress because we determined that the letter carrier was “not a
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*
This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 21-30769 Document: 00516734381 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/02/2023
No. 21-30769
government actor to whom the Fourth Amendment applies.” United States
v. Johnlouis, 44 F.4th 331, 337 (5th Cir. 2022), cert. denied, 143 S. Ct. 834
(2023).
We are bound by the determination in Johnlouis that the letter carrier
was not acting as an agent of the government when she inspected the package
at issue. 1 Thus, the district court did not err in finding that the letter
carrier’s actions did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The judgment of
the district court is AFFIRMED.
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1
Felton and his co-defendant both abandoned the argument that the letter carrier
was a private person acting in the capacity of a government agent.
2