U.S. v. Dequasie

Citation244 F.Supp.2d 651
Decision Date20 February 2003
Docket NumberNo. CR.A. 502-00228.,CR.A. 502-00228.
PartiesUNITED STATES of America v. Timothy DEQUASIE
CourtU.S. District Court — Southern District of West Virginia

Timothy DeQuasie, Oak Hill, WV, pro se.

S. Mason Preston, Preston & Weese, Lewisburg, WV, Edward H. Weis, Assist. Fed. Public Defender, Charleston, WV, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

CHAMBERS, District Judge.

I.

Defendant is charged in a single count indictment alleging possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The charge emanates from two searches of Defendant's residence authorized by separate search warrants, the second search having produced a gun. Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the first search warrant and claims that its invalidity precludes the use of the gun against the defendant.

On March 18, 2002, Detective-Corporal Brown of the Fayette County Sheriffs Department 1

was contacted by Shawn Bandy who reported that his wife, Lora, had been missing for two to three days. Mr. Bandy also stated that his wife's sister-in-law, Tiffany Mason, had called to tell Mr. Bandy that Lora was being held against her will by Mr. Dequasie. Mr. Bandy relayed that Tiffany had told him that every time Lora attempted to leave Mr. Dequasie's residence, Mr. Dequasie would give her crack cocaine and had thereby induced Lora into a stupor to prevent her from leaving.

Deputy Webb met with and obtained statements from Mr. Bandy and his mother-in-law, Cynthia Mason, and completed a missing person's report. Mr. Bandy and Ms. Mason both stated that Tiffany and Lora had gone together to Mr. Dequasie's residence and that Tiffany reported Lora's inability to leave as well as seeing large quantities of guns and drugs in the residence. They said Tiffany had also reported that Mr. Dequasie threatened to kill any family members that attempted to rescue Lora.

Later that same day, Detective-Corporal Sizemore applied for and obtained a warrant from Fayette County Magistrate Dale Payne to search Mr. Dequasie's residence for both Lora Bandy and Tiffany Mason. In the affidavit attached to his application, Detective-Corporal Sizemore included Tiffany Mason's statements, as relayed by Mr. Bandy and Cynthia Mason, that "Lora was being held against her will by Mr. Dequasie and that every time that she would try to leave he would give her more crack cocaine and induce a stupor from which she was unable to stay in her right mind." Detective-Corporal Sizemore also stated in the affidavit that "Timothy Dequasie is reportedly associated with Giuseppe Wallace." The affidavit further included a description of the residence provided by Detective-Corporal Brown who went to the residence and "was able to observe several subjects at this residence." Detective-Corporal Sizemore concluded the affidavit by stating that "it appears likely that MS. [sic] Bandy's life may be in jeopardy if she continues to stay at this residence." No attempt was made to interview Tiffany Mason prior to Detective-Corporal Sizemore's application for a search warrant.

Detective-Corporal Sizemore and other officers from the Fayette County Sheriffs Office executed the warrant. Lora Bandy was found unharmed. Detective-Corporal Sizemore reported that while executing the warrant, he smelled the strong odor of marijuana and observed a small quantity of green vegetable matter that appeared to be marijuana near the door of the residence. Officers patted down Mr. Dequasie and discovered two cell phones on his person. Based on these facts, Detective-Corporal Sizemore had officers remain at the residence to "secure the scene and prevent the destruction of evidence," while he left to obtain a second search warrant.

In the affidavit to support the second warrant, Detective-Corporal Sizemore noted his extensive experience in drug enforcement and stated that he "detected the strong odor of marijuana . . . (and) observed a small quantity of green vegetation which appeared to be marijuana." He further reported finding the two cell phones on Mr. Dequasie's person, noting that "in my experience it is quite common for individuals engaged in the sale of drugs to maintain multiple cell phone accounts." Sizemore again relayed Tiffany Mason's statements to Mr. Bandy and Cynthia Mason, this time including that Tiffany had stated that, along with large quantities of drugs and guns, Mr. Dequasie also "had approximately $20,000.00 in cash at his residence." Detective-Corporal Sizemore stated in conclusion that although the information provided by Tiffany Mason "cannot be judged as to reliability," the combination of his observations and that information "tend to confirm that Mr. Dequasie probably has in his possession some quantity of a controlled substance."

Execution of the second warrant resulted in the following items being seized: $699.00, a loaded .32 Long revolver (found under a couch cushion), a battery operated Pointscale, 17 assorted .32 revolver shells, a section of copper scrub pad (reported as commonly used to make screens for crack pipes), a crack pipe stem, a spring-loaded roach clip, a cell phone bill in Mr. Dequasie's name, a plastic Zip-loc bag with a white powder residue inside, a package of E-Z Wider rolling papers, and two cell phones. Mr. Dequasie admitted at this time that he had smoked marijuana and that he had been convicted of domestic battery. Mr. Dequasie was then arrested for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance.

II.

The present case involves federal court admissibility of evidence obtained by state officers pursuant to search warrant. Challenges to the validity of the search warrant are thus tested by the Fourth Amendment and not state law standards. See United States v. Clyburn, 24 F.3d 613 (4th Cir.1994). In evaluating a judicial officer's determination that probable cause existed to issue a search warrant, a reviewing court is not permitted to examine the judicial officer's findings de novo. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 231-38, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). Instead, a reviewing court's task is to determine whether there is substantial evidence in the record supporting the judicial officer's decision to issue a warrant. Massachusetts v. Upton, 466 U.S. 727, 728, 104 S.Ct. 2085, 80 L.Ed.2d 721 (1984).

A court considering whether probable cause existed to issue a warrant must consider only the information provided to the magistrate. United States v. Wilhelm, 80 F.3d 116, 118 (4th Cir.1996). In evaluating probable cause, a court examines the totality of the circumstances. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). Probable cause to search is established when there is "a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place." Gates, 462 U.S. at 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317. Probable cause may be based upon information from any reliable source or sources. Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 313, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959). Courts generally find probable cause where there is at least some degree of corroboration as well as some indicia of reliability. United States v. Lalor, 996 F.2d 1578 (4th Cir.1993).

The fruits of an improperly issued warrant are not necessarily poisonous. The Supreme Court established the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule in United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984), which can save the admissibility of evidence discovered through the execution of a faulty search warrant. The Supreme Court in Leon succinctly set forth the parameters of the exception:

We conclude that the marginal or nonexistent benefits produced by suppressing evidence obtained in objectively reasonable reliance on a subsequently invalidated search warrant cannot justify the substantial costs of exclusion . . . Nevertheless, the officer's reliance on the magistrate's probable-cause determination and on the technical sufficiency of the warrant he issues must be objectively reasonable, and it is clear that in some circumstances the officer will have no reasonable grounds for believing that the warrant was properly issued.

Leon, 468 U.S. at 922-23, 104 S.Ct. 3405 (citations and footnotes omitted).

The Fourth Circuit has summarized the four situations where an officer's reliance on a search warrant would not be reasonable:

(1) the magistrate was misled by information in the affidavit that the officer "knew was false or would have known was false except for his reckless disregard of the truth"; (2) the magistrate "wholly abandoned his judicial role . . ."; (3) the affidavit was "so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence entirely unreasonable"; and (4) "depending on the circumstances of the particular case, a warrant may be so facially deficient . . . that the officers cannot reasonably presume it to be valid."

United States v. Clutchette, 24 F.3d 577, 581 (4th Cir.1994) (quoting Leon, 468 U.S. at 923, 104 S.Ct. 3405).

The Fourth Circuit has thus adopted a two-step analysis in reviewing either a district court's grant or denial of a motion to suppress:

(1) whether the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule, as enunciated in United States v. Leon and its progeny, applies to this case; and (2) whether a neutral and detached magistrate issued the search warrant, which contains a particular description of the place to be searched and things to be seized, based upon probable cause and supported by oath.

Clutchette, 24 F.3d at 579. See also United States v. Bynum, 293 F.3d 192 (4th Cir.2002) (proceeding directly to a determination of good faith under Leon prior to addressing probable cause). This Court adopts the Fourth Circuit's analysis and will look first to the "good faith" exception and, if this exception is inapplicable, then to a determination of whether or not there was probable cause to support the warrant.

III.

The Court held a...

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2 cases
  • Faulkner v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Special Appeals of Maryland
    • April 29, 2004
    ...Cir.1996)(home entry and search based on invalid search warrant on which officer could not reasonably rely); United States v. Dequasie, 244 F.Supp.2d 651, 658 (S.D.W.Va.2003) (home entry and search based on invalid warrants); Dunnuck v. State, 367 Md. 198, 210-11, 786 A.2d 695 (2001)(warran......
  • U.S. v. Dequasie
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)
    • July 1, 2004
    ...his residence in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The district court agreed and granted the suppression motion, United States v. Dequasie, 244 F.Supp.2d 651 (S.D.W.Va.2003), and the United States now appeals. Because we find that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule set forth......

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