U.S. v. Grimes

• Decision Date: 01 August 1999
• Docket Number: Docket No. 00-1152
• Parties: (2nd Cir. 2000) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. CHARLES GRIMES, Defendant-Appellant
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 254

225 F.3d 254 (2nd Cir. 2000)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. CHARLES GRIMES, Defendant-Appellant.

Docket No. 00-1152

August Term, 1999

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

Argued: August 9, 2000

Decided: August 21, 2000

In this appeal, appellant Charles Grimes asks that we reverse the decision of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York (Siragusa, Judge) denying his motion to suppress evidence, denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea, applying a four-level sentence enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(5), and applying a two-level sentence enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1.

Affirmed.

BRADLEY E. TYLER, Assistant United States Attorney (DENISE E. O'DONNELL, United States Attorney for the Western District of New York) Rochester NY, for Appellee.

WILLIAM CLAUSS, Federal Public Defender's Office (JAY S. OVSIOVITCH, research and writing specialist) Rochester, NY, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before: CALABRESI, CABRANES, and POOLER, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Defendant-appellant Charles Grimes appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York (Charles J. Siragusa, Judge), upon Grimes's plea of guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2). Grimes asks that we reverse the district court's finding that searches of his residence at 37 Linnet Street in Rochester, New York on the day of his arrest did not violate his Fourth Amendment rights. He also asks that we reverse the district court's denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and that we find the district court's application of sentence enhancements under United States Sentencing Guidelines § 2K2.1(b)(5) and § 3C1.1 erroneous.

BACKGROUND

On May 23, 1991, defendant Charles Grimes was convicted of robbery in the first degree in Monroe County Court in Rochester, New York. After serving his sentence for this crime, Mr. Grimes was released from the Oneida Correctional Facility in May 1996 and was assigned to the supervision of Parole Officer Cynthia Mooney in January 1998. On January 11, 1999, Grimes got in touch with Mooney and informed her that he had had contact with the police on January 7 and January 9.¹ Grimes explained to Mooney that on both occasions he was ticketed for operating a motor vehicle without a license but that he had not been taken into custody. On January 12, 1999, Mooney was called by a Rochester Police officer who provided more information about Grimes's run-in with the police. Mooney was told that Grimes fled from the police when they attempted to pull over his vehicle, that he was later taken into custody, and that he was suspected of being involved in numerous robberies and of possessing a gun. She was told that a ski mask was discovered in Grimes's car after he was pulled over and that he had been arrested and released on January 11, 1998.

Mooney then discussed Charles Grimes's parole status with her superior, Parole Officer Phillip Overfield, and noted that Grimes was not in compliance with the conditions of his parole due to positive drug tests, failure to comply with the conditions of a drug treatment program, failure to attend a required education program, and lying to his parole officer about his contact with the police. The parole officers issued a Violation of Parole Warrant and decided to execute it "as soon as possible."

On January 12, 1999, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Parole Officer Mooney and five other parole officers went to Charles Grimes's residence at 37 Linnet Street in Rochester in order to execute the warrant. Upon arriving at the Grimes residence, the officers encountered LaTonya Grimes, the defendant's sister, on the front lawn. Ms. Grimes immediately entered the house, slammed the door shut, and locked it. She told the officers that she would get Charles for them and that they "could have him." Over the next five to eight minutes, the parole officers "heard a great deal of walking around upstairs, loud thumping, [and] music . . . turned up very loud." Ms. Grimes yelled to the officers that her brother would be coming out, but that the officers would not be permitted to enter the house. She warned the officers that she had a Rottweiler and that she would set the dog on them if they tried to come in. The parole officers called the Rochester Police Department ("RPD"), informed them that they had a warrant for Mr. Grimes's arrest but were being met with resistance, and requested assistance.

Later, but before the Rochester police arrived on the scene, the front door to 37 Linnet Street opened partially and Charles Grimes began to squeeze out with his back to the parole officers and his hands behind his back. Mooney put her hand on the front door and attempted to push it open in order to assure that the officers were secure. Specifically, she was concerned that there might be someone inside with a gun. LaTonya Grimes grabbed Mooney's wrist while trying to keep the front door closed and to push Charles outside. She insisted that the officers not enter. Mr. Grimes was taken into custody in the doorway of 37 Linnet Street. The door was slammed shut behind him.

Soon after, officers from the RPD arrived, and, at Mooney's request, arrested LaTonya Grimes for obstructing governmental administration. Parole officers then searched Charles Grimes's bedroom only. The officers there found a bulletproof vest, three portable scanners, two rifle magazines (one with live rounds in it), an electronic digital scale, a ski mask, two walkie-talkies, and a pellet gun. The parole officers asked LaTonya Grimes for permission to search the entire house. She refused, insisting that the police would have to wait until her mother, the "main renter," returned home.

Charles Grimes's mother, Pearl Davis (also "Pearlean Santiago") arrived at 37 Linnet Street at approximately 3 p.m. on January 12, 1999. At about 3:30 p.m. Rochester police officer William T. McGlynn arrived at the Grimes residence and explained to Ms. Davis that he wanted her consent to search the entire house because the police had reason to believe that there were guns in it. Officer McGlynn explained the consent form to Ms. Davis and read it to her. Ms. Davis gave police officers both oral and written consent to search the entire premises. During the search, police and parole officers found two handguns, flex cuffs, conventional handcuffs, duct tape, live ammunition, camouflage fatigue clothing, two bulletproof vests, drug baggies, and a laser point sight system.

On April 6, 1999, Charles Grimes was indicted under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and §924(a)(2) on three counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Mr. Grimes moved to have the evidence that had been seized from 37 Linnet Street suppressed on the grounds that the warrantless searches were unlawful. Judge Siragusa held a suppression hearing on July 8, 9, and 23 and then denied defendant's motion. United States v. Grimes, 67 F.Supp. 2d 170 (W.D.N.Y. 1999).

In his decision and order, Judge Siragusa noted that while parolees do not surrender their constitutional protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, their status as parolees diminishes the extent of their Fourth Amendment protection. He explained that under New York law, parolees may be subject to warrantless searches and seizures by a parole officer as long as the officer's conduct is rationally and reasonably related to the performance of his or her duties. Id. at 176-77 (citing People v. Huntley, 43 N.Y.2d 175, 181 (1977)). Judge Siragusa found that this standard comported with the requirements of the Fourth Amendment and that the original search of defendant's bedroom as well as the subsequent search of the entire house were permissible under Huntley.² The district court also held, in the alternative, that the second search conducted at 37 Linnet Street was lawful, given the consent of Pearl Davis.

On September 24, 1999, a little more than one month after the district court denied his motion to suppress, Charles Grimes executed a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office and pled guilty to all of the counts of the indictment.

On February 8, 2000, Mr. Grimes filed a motion to withdraw his plea. In a signed and sworn affidavit attached to his motion, Grimes claimed innocence and explained that he pled guilty only to spare his family the trauma of seeing him put to trial. He also urged that his decision to plead guilty was motivated by distrust of the criminal justice system, which had been encouraged by his mother and sister.

At Mr. Grimes's sentencing hearing, on February 14, 2000, Judge Siragusa denied the defendant's motion to withdraw his plea, finding no "fair and just reason" for doing so. Based on the evidence adduced at the suppression hearing and at Grimes's plea colloquy, the court found "no valid grounds for withdrawal."

The district court then set the defendant's offense level under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Grimes's offense level was adjusted in light of U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(5) and U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1. Specifically, Judge Siragusa enhanced Grimes's offense level by 4 points under the former provision, which requires a finding that the defendant was in possession of a firearm or ammunition with reason to believe that it would be used in the commission of a felony. Applying the latter provision, the district court enhanced the defendant's offense level by two more points for obstruction of justice, concluding that Grimes perjured himself by claiming innocence in the affidavit accompanying his motion to withdraw his plea. Grimes was sentenced to 120 months in prison.

This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

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