Law360 (April 28, 2026, 6:59 PM EDT) -- A North Carolina man charged with drug and gun violations when he was arrested for interfering with a police investigation after riding his bike in and out of an active crime scene, cannot have evidence against him suppressed, a Fourth Circuit appeals panel ruled Tuesday.

In a unanimous published opinion, a three-judge panel said that the drugs and weapons found in Milton Allen's bags in 2023 would have been inevitably discovered when he was searched prior to being booked into the Wake County Detention Center, so his arguments that the evidence should be suppressed failed.

Allen had two loaded pistols, 11.1 grams of cocaine, 11.2 grams of marijuana, 68 fentanyl dosage units, several unknown substances, a digital scale, several cell phones and $1,956.16 in cash in his bag when he was arrested, according to the panel.

These items resulted in multiple charges, according to the court, which said "the contents of the bag would inevitably have been lawfully discovered pursuant to the applicable inventory search policy that required the search of Allen's bags during his intake processing at the Wake County Detention Center."

The panel disagreed with the district court that police and county policies "lacked 'enough particularity.'"

"The evidence with respect to each policy explicitly showed that the policies applied to every arrestee and to all property possessed by the arrestee, without exception," the panel wrote.

When police did try to arrest Allen for interfering with their investigation into a stolen car in Raleigh, North Carolina, he resisted, the panel said, noting that, "He bit one of the officer's fingers and kicked one of the patrol vehicles, damaging a panel on the passenger side. The scuffle lasted for some five minutes, and four additional officers were needed to subdue Allen."

Allen argued that when he was searched, he was already secured, so police had no reason to rifle through his belongings to ensure their safety, according to the panel.

While this may have been true, the contraband would have been discovered eventually, according to the court.

"Because we conclude that, under established policies for inventory searches, the evidence would inevitably have been lawfully discovered, we reverse the district court's order," the panel said.

Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comments on Monday.

U.S. Circuit Judges Albert Diaz, Paul V. Niemeyer and Toby J. Heytens sat on the panel for the Fourth Circuit.

The United States of America is represented by Sarah Elizabeth Nokes, Michael F. Easley Jr. and David A. Bragdon of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Milton Christopher Allen is represented by Colin Alexander Shive and F. Hill Allen IV of Tharrington Smith LLP.

The case is United States of America v. Milton Christopher Allen, case number 24-4604, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

--Editing by Dave Trumbore.

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