U.S. v. WILSON
953 F.2d 116 (1991)
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Albert WILSON, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 90-5229.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Argued June 7, 1991.
Decided December 19, 1991.
As Amended December 31, 1991.
Joseph N. Bowman, Alexandria, Va., argued, for defendant-appellant.
Steven George Bonorris, Sp. Asst. U.S. Atty., Alexandria, Va. (Henry E. Hudson, U.S. Atty., William G. Otis, Sr. Litigation Counsel, on brief), for plaintiff-appellee.
Before ERVIN, Chief Judge, HALL, Circuit Judge, and GARBIS, U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland, sitting by designation.
K.K. HALL, Circuit Judge:
Albert Wilson appeals his conviction for possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute. Although he pleaded guilty, he reserved his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. We hold that the district court erred in refusing to suppress evidence of the drugs, and we vacate the conviction and remand for further proceedings.
I.At about 3:00 p.m. on April 4, 1990, Wilson disembarked from the New York shuttle at National Airport outside Washington, D.C. He was carrying two coats and a carry-on luggage bag. As he was leaving the terminal, he was approached by Douglas Crooke, a Fairfax County, Virginia, policeman and a member of the Drug Enforcement Agency's task force engaged in monitoring passengers at the airport. Accompanied by fellow task force officers Mike Rogers and Charles Prince, Crooke identified himself as a police officer and asked if Wilson would speak to him. Wilson agreed to do so.
Crooke asked if Wilson had just come off a flight from New York, and Wilson said that no, he had just arrived from Boston. Upon request for identification, Wilson produced a card that he said he used to cash checks. Wilson responded to further inquiries by telling officer Crooke that he lived in Washington but was transferring to school in Boston.
Crooke then explained the DEA's purpose in monitoring flights and asked Wilson if he was carrying guns. Wilson said no, but he did permit Crooke to search his carry-on bag. While Crooke was searching the bag, Wilson approached officer Prince and asked whether he (Prince) would like to search his person. Prince then patted him down. Each of these searches produced nothing. Crooke then testified at the suppression hearing about the ensuing events:
1. Terry v. Ohio,392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). 2. United States v. Gray,883 F.2d 320 (4th Cir. 1989), a case heavily relied upon by the government, is not controlling. In Gray, there was no effort whatsoever by the suspect to terminate the police-initiated encounter, and the encounter clearly remained consensual from the first approach of the police through the suspect's voluntary consent for a search of his person.