United States v. Kimmons

── United States v. Kimmons ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: June 03, 2026 Category: Direct Criminal Case: 25-30371 Document: 79-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/03/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-30371 FILED ____________ June 3, 2026 Lyle W. Cayce United States of America, Clerk Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Timothy O. Kimmons, Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 5:23-CR-202-1 ______________________________ Before Clement, Southwick, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Timothy O. Kimmons challenges the legality of a pat down performed on him during a traffic stop, as well as the sentence he received after his conditional guilty plea to a narcotics offense. Because the officer had reasonable suspicion Kimmons was armed, we AFFIRM the district court’s denial of the motion to suppress. And because the district court erred in _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 25-30371 Document: 79-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/03/2026 No. 25-30371 sentencing Kimmons as a career offender, we VACATE his sentence and REMAND to the district court. I. A narcotics agent received information that Kimmons was a large- scale methamphetamine distributor and was going to resupply in Lafayette, Louisiana on September 27, 2022. On that day, license plate recognition systems picked up a car known to be used by Kimmons driving towards and, later in the day, away from Lafayette. The narcotics agent notified another officer on traffic patrol that Kimmons was a drug dealer returning from a large resupply. The narcotics agent also informed the officer that Kimmons had previously been convicted of felony drug offenses and resisting an officer with force and was possibly armed. The officer followed Kimmons and pulled him over after he swerved over a fog line. The traffic stop occurred around 11:00 p.m. in a deserted area. The officer instructed Kimmons to step out of the car and noticed that Kimmons was looking around and appeared nervous. Kimmons told the officer that he was coming from Shreveport, but the officer knew that he was coming from Lafayette. The officer asked to search the car, and Kimmons consented. Before beginning the search, the officer patted Kimmons down for weapons and felt a solid object that the officer believed to be a weapon in Kimmons’ pants. Instead, it was a one-pound brick of methamphetamine. Kimmons was indicted for possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(viii). Kimmons moved to suppress the methamphetamine obtained during the pat down. The district court denied the motion, and Kimmons conditionally pleaded guilty, reserving the right to appeal the suppression ruling. 2 Case: 25-30371 Document: 79-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 06/03/2026 No. 25-30371 The presentence investigation report (PSR) calculated a Guidelines range of 262 to 327 months of imprisonment. It de