U.S. v. Wardrick

• Decision Date: 20 November 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-4494.,02-4494.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Junior WARDRICK, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 446

350 F.3d 446

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Junior WARDRICK, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 02-4494.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued: September 24, 2003.

Decided: November 20, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

ARGUED: Denise Charlotte Barrett, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant.

Debra L. Dwyer, Assistant United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.

ON BRIEF: James Wyda, Federal Public Defender, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant.

Thomas M. DiBiagio, United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.

Before WIDENER, TRAXLER, and KING, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge King wrote the opinion, in which Judge Widener and Judge Traxler joined.

OPINION

KING, Circuit Judge.

Robert Junior Wardrick appeals from his convictions and sentence in the District of Maryland for violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d).¹ Seeking to vacate his convictions, Wardrick raises three Fourth Amendment issues concerning the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a search warrant. Challenging his sentence of 300 months, Wardrick contends that the court erred in finding him to be an "armed career criminal" under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Because each of these contentions is without merit, we affirm.

I.

While auditing ammunition sales logs at three Baltimore retail stores in January, 2000, Detective Robert Overfield of the Baltimore City Police Department noted several sales to Robert Wardrick. More specifically, the records reflected that Wardrick had recently purchased .32 caliber and .357 Magnum ammunition, as well as .410 gauge shotgun shells. These transactions attracted Det. Overfield's interest because he had previously arrested both Wardrick and his wife, Mary Frances, on firearms charges. Moreover, Det. Overfield knew that each was prohibited from possessing firearms because of prior felony convictions.

In fact, Det. Overfield had been present on December 18, 2000, when Wardrick was convicted of a firearms felony in Maryland state court. Immediately after the state court conviction, Det. Overfield heard Wardrick assert that he always carried a loaded gun and that he "never missed." At that time, Wardrick also made references to assaulting police officers. Believing that Wardrick might illegally possess firearms, Det. Overfield investigated further. In his investigation, Det. Overfield reviewed various records, including motor vehicle records, parole and probation records, and tax and assessment records. Det. Overfield also obtained information on Wardrick from Verizon, a private telecommunications corporation. The investigation revealed that Wardrick was the mortgagee of property located at 1808 Division Street in Baltimore. On January 11, 2001, Det. Overfield conducted surveillance at that address, observing two vehicles bearing Virginia license plates registered to Robert Wardrick.

On January 22, 2001, Det. Overfield sought and obtained a search warrant from a judge of the District Court for Baltimore County "to enter without knocking and search the premises at 1808 Division Street, Baltimore, ... [t]o search for, seize and remove therefrom any and all parts thereof any UMC brand.357 Magnum ammunition, and any firearms including but not limited to a .357 magnum handgun and a .32 caliber pistol, boxes, receipts, or manuals relating to said firearms." (emphasis in original).² In requesting the court to authorize a "no-knock" entry to the premises, Det. Overfield presented an affidavit (the "Overfield Affidavit") reflecting that "Wardrick ha[d] a history of arrests making him a likely threat to a police officer." The Overfield Affidavit identified Wardrick as having three prior convictions for firearms offenses and three for battery, plus convictions for assault, resisting arrest, and escape. It further asserted that "[t]his history as well as comments made by the subject regarding the likely presence of firearms would necessitate a no-knock warrant for officer safety reasons."³

At 5:15 a.m. on January 23, 2001, seven Baltimore police officers executed the search warrant at the Division Street residence. After awakening and detaining Wardrick, the officers searched the master bedroom of the residence, seizing a loaded 9mm Ruger from beneath a pillow of the bed where Wardrick had been sleeping. The officers also seized from the bedroom a sawed-off 12 gauge shotgun, a .357 Magnum revolver, numerous rounds of ammunition, a pellet gun, Wardrick's automobile operator's license, a gas and electric bill, and a refund notice. The bill and the refund notice each bore Wardrick's name and the Division Street address. The officers also searched the balance of the residence and seized additional evidence, including another .357 Magnum, a 12 gauge shotgun, a .22 rifle, a .410 sawed-off shotgun, a starter pistol, an empty box labeled "Beretta," and two holsters.

On June 29, 2001, a federal grand jury in Baltimore returned a three-count indictment against Wardrick, charging, inter alia, the illegal possession of firearms by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and the unlawful possession of sawed-off shotguns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d).⁴ Prior to trial, Wardrick moved the district court to suppress the evidence seized from the Division Street residence. The suppression motion made three separate contentions concerning the search: (1) that the search was unconstitutional because the officers failed to "knock and announce" prior to entering the residence; (2) that the Overfield Affidavit was premised on information unconstitutionally obtained from Verizon's business records; and (3) that the seizure of certain items, such as the gas and electric bill and the refund notice, unconstitutionally exceeded the scope of the warrant.

On October 12, 2001, the district court conducted a hearing on the suppression issues. In denying the motion from the bench, the court made several pertinent findings of fact. First, in determining that the authorization for a no-knock entry was justified, the court found that Wardrick had a violent criminal history, that he had made threatening statements in Det. Overfield's presence, and that he had purchased ammunition, indicating that he likely possessed firearms. Second, in concluding that the Verizon information was not unconstitutionally obtained, the court observed, pursuant to the affidavit, that Det. Overfield had secured Wardrick's address and phone number from other records before obtaining any such information from Verizon. Moreover, the court found that Verizon had voluntarily provided the information upon request. Third, in addressing the items not specified in the warrant, the court upheld their seizure under both the terms of the warrant and the plain view doctrine. After its denial of the motion to suppress, the court entertained and denied Wardrick's motion for reconsideration.

During Wardrick's trial, which was conducted in Baltimore in May, 2002, the prosecution introduced the evidence seized under the search warrant. At the trial's conclusion, the jury convicted Wardrick of violating both § 922(g)(1) and § 5861(d). On September 13, 2002, the district court sentenced Wardrick under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1) (the "ACCA").⁵ Maintaining that ACCA did not apply to his situation, Wardrick asserted that his prior convictions for assault, battery, resisting arrest, and escape were not violent felonies. The court, however, ruled to the contrary. On September 17, 2002, Wardrick was sentenced to 300 months on his § 922(g)(1) conviction, plus a concurrent term of 120 months on his § 5861(d) conviction, followed by supervised release. Wardrick filed a timely notice of appeal, and we possess jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

II.

In considering a district court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence, we review the court's factual findings for clear error and its legal determinations de novo. United States v. Rusher, 966 F.2d 868, 873 (4th Cir.1992). In considering an appellate challenge to a sentence, we examine legal issues de novo. United States v. Daughtrey, 874 F.2d 213, 217-18 (4th Cir.1989). However, "[w]e review the district court's findings of fact at sentencing only to assure ourselves that they are not clearly erroneous." United States v. Hobbs, 136 F.3d 384, 387 n. 5 (4th Cir.1998) (quoting United States v. Crump, 120 F.3d 462, 468 (4th Cir.1997)). Accordingly, in reviewing a district court's application of ACCA, we review its legal determinations de novo and its factual findings for clear error. See United States v. Brandon, 247 F.3d 186, 188 (4th Cir.2001).

III.

Wardrick raises four separate contentions on appeal. His first three challenges relate to the district court's denial of his motion to suppress, and his fourth contention concerns the calculation of his sentence. First, Wardrick contends that the search of his Division Street residence was unconstitutional because the officers did not "knock and announce" prior to executing the warrant. Second, Wardrick maintains that the search warrant was invalid because the Overfield Affidavit relied on information obtained unconstitutionally from Verizon. Third, Wardrick asserts that certain items not specified in the warrant should have been suppressed because their seizure unconstitutionally exceeded the scope of the warrant. Finally, Wardrick maintains that the court erred in sentencing him as an "armed career criminal" under ACCA because his prior convictions for assault, battery, resisting arrest, and escape were not violent felonies. We assess these contentions in turn.

A.

We first consider whether the district court erred in denying Wardrick's motion to suppress because the officers failed to "knock and announce" prior to executing the warrant. Under Fourth Amendment precedent, officers are...