U.S. v. Lafferty
| Decision Date | 06 June 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. CRIM. 04-07-02J.,CRIM. 04-07-02J. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, v. Amy L. LAFFERTY, a/k/a Amy L. Lowery, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania |
John J. Valkovci, Jr., United States Attorney's Office, Johnstown, PA, for Plaintiff.
Marketa Sims, Federal Public Defender's Office, Pittsburgh, PA, for Defendant.
This matter comes before the Court on four motions of the Defendant: Motion for Severance of Defendants with Citation of Authority (Document No. 29), Motion to Suppress Statements with Citation of Authority (Document No. 30), Motion to Produce Evidence which the Government Intends to Use Under Federal Rules of Evidence 404(b) and 609 with Citation of Authority (Document No. 31) and Motion for Discovery of Taped Statement with Citation of Authority (Document No. 32). The Court has been informed that the Government will provide the taped statement sought in the latter discovery motion, and therefore, the Court finds that this motion is moot. The Court also notes that the co-defendant in this matter, David W. Mitchell, has plead guilty and has been sentenced subsequent to the filing of Defendant Amy L. Lafferty's (Defendant) Motion for Severance and, therefore, that motion has been rendered moot as well. Therefore, the Court must resolve only two of the four original motions filed by the Defendant.1 The Court will first analyze the Motion to Suppress and then proceed to analyze the Motion to Produce Evidence.
The Defendant has been indicted for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(u) and § 924(i)(1) and (2).2 It is alleged that the Defendant along with her co-defendant burglarized a federally licensed firearms dealer in order to trade the stolen weapons from the burglary for illegal substances, including heroin, for their personal use.
It is noted that the Court held a hearing at which testimony was received in regard to the Motion to Suppress on January 31, 2005. The Court's findings of fact are based upon the testimony and exhibits admitted in that Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3)(C) hearing.
The Court sets forth the following findings of fact and conclusions of law in order to resolve the Fourth and Fifth Amendment issues raised by the Defendant.
1. On January 10, 2003, the Defendant along with her co-defendant, David W. Mitchell, ("Mitchell") were contacted by telephone by Special Agent Mark Willgohs ("Willgohs") of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms ("ATF") and were requested to be interviewed by Willgohs at the Pennsylvania State Police Barracks in Somerset, Pennsylvania ("Barracks") regarding "an incident"; both the Defendant and Mitchell voluntarily agreed to come to the Barracks and be interviewed.
2. Mitchell and the Defendant were driven to the Barracks by Mitchell's mother and step-father.
3. On January 10, 2003, beginning at approximately 12:30 P.M., the Defendant was interviewed by both Willgohs and Pennsylvania State Trooper Ed Thomas ("Thomas"); Mitchell was interviewed separately in another office by different law enforcement officers.
4. Willgohs and Thomas were not in police uniforms, did not carry sidearms, did not touch the Defendant or yell and scream at her, did not use any "psychological ploys" on the Defendant, did not threaten or promise anything to the Defendant and did not handcuff the Defendant at any time during this interview.
5. Willgohs informed the Defendant at the outset of the interview that there was no warrant for the Defendant's arrest and that the authorities present had no plans to arrest her.
6. The room in which the Defendant was interviewed was eight feet by eight feet in dimension, and contained three chairs and a table at the time of the interview; the Defendant sat next to the door and the door was closed during most of the interview, but was left open slightly during the latter part of the interview.
7. The Defendant was informed at the time of this interview that she was free to leave whenever she wished.
8. The Defendant was read the "Statement of Rights" portion of an ATF Department of Treasury Waiver of Right to Remain Silent and of Right to Advice of Counsel form (Government's Exhibit No. 1) concerning which she had no questions and subsequently she signed said form at 12:50 P.M. indicating that she understood her rights; Willgohs did not read to the Defendant the "Waiver" portion of the form, which indicates that she is waiving her right to remain silent and her right to consult an attorney and have him present during questioning, but the Defendant read this portion of the waiver on her own and also signed this "Waiver".
9. Prior to the signing of this form, Willgohs indicated to the Defendant that he wanted to question her regarding the burglary of the Mountain Man Sports Shop.
10. The Defendant had not used heroin for three days; the symptoms of heroin withdrawal peak at thirty-six to seventy-two hours after use.
11. During this interview, the Defendant was "dope sick", that is to say she was in withdrawal from using heroin three days before and was non-responsive to about eighty percent of the questions in the interview; the Defendant requested and was given four or five smoke breaks outside of the building during this interview and also at one point was given soda to drink.
12. During the course of this interview, the Defendant did not admit to committing any criminal conduct.
13. The Defendant did not request to speak with an attorney during this interview.
14. The interview lasted approximately four hours.
15. The Defendant requested to leave to return home to take a shower, but the interview continued for another fifteen minutes regarding only the issue of whether the Defendant would return voluntarily to be interviewed again, and during these fifteen minutes Willgohs and Thomas did not attempt to elicit any substantive information regarding the burglary from the Defendant and the Defendant did not admit to any involvement in the burglary.
16. The interview was finally terminated by Willgohs and Thomas after the Defendant agreed to return within two days to speak with her interviewers again.
17. On the morning of January 15, 2003, Willgohs contacted Mitchell by telephone to attempt to convince him and the Defendant to come to the Barracks for a second interview, but Mitchell declined to come to the Barracks until the Defendant arrived at Mitchell's mother's home so that both of them could go to the Barracks together.
18. However, upon the return of the Defendant to Mitchell's mother's home on January 15, 2003, the Defendant was arrested on an outstanding unrelated warrant from Westmoreland County, ("Westmoreland warrant") by the Pennsylvania State Police in Somerset.
19. This arrest occurred when the Defendant and Mitchell could not be reached by telephone to be asked to voluntarily return to the State Police Barracks to resume their individual interviews regarding the burglary of the Mountain Man Sports Shop.3
20. The Westmoreland warrant contains no date indicating when it was served but the Westmoreland warrant was in fact served on the Defendant on March 21, 2003.
21. The Defendant and Mitchell were arrested on January 15, 2003 at approximately 12:50 P.M., handcuffed and transported to the Pennsylvania State Police Barracks in Somerset.
22. The Defendant was placed in the same interview room that had been used for her during the January 10, 2003 interview.
23. The Defendant was not "dope sick" this day.
24. The Defendant was advised of her Miranda rights prior to being asked any questions this day as she was once again read the "Statement of Rights" portion of an ATF Department of Treasury Waiver of Right to Remain Silent and of Right to Advice of Counsel form (Government's Exhibit 2; Defendant's Exhibit 1) to which she had no questions, shook her head in the affirmative in response to Willgohs' question of whether she understood her rights and, subsequently signed said form on January 15, 2003 at 1:15 P.M. indicating that she understood her rights; Willgohs did not read to the Defendant the "Waiver" portion of the form, which indicates that she was waiving her right to remain silent, her right to consult an attorney and have him present during questioning, but the Defendant read this portion on her own and also signed this "Waiver."
25. The purpose of arresting the Defendant on the Westmoreland warrant was to interview her regarding the instant offense; during the interview the Defendant denied any involvement in the instant offense.
26. The Defendant was not arraigned upon the Westmoreland warrant that day.
27. During this interview the Defendant did not admit to committing any criminal conduct.
28. The Defendant never requested to speak to an attorney during this interview.
29. This interview lasted approximately twenty minutes, but Willgohs and Thomas were prepared to conduct an interview similar in length to the January 10, 2003 interview.
30. The interview ended when the Defendant indicated that she did not wish to speak anymore.
31. The Defendant was then taken back to the "crime room area" for approximately two and one-half hours to await the completion of Mitchell's interview and the preparation by the State Police of the paperwork necessary to charge the Defendant with the instant offense and not the offense for which she was arrested, i.e., the Westmoreland County offenses found in the Westmoreland County warrant.
32. Thereafter, the State Police had the local magisterial district judge contacted and requested that he come to his office to arraign the Defendant and Mitchell.
33. Thomas and Trooper Tim Frew ("Frew") then...
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U.S. v. Lafferty
... ... Sean is correct, an adoptive admission is permitted under F.R.E. 801(d)(2)(B). However, this is not a joint statement. It is only one statement made by one person, but adopted by a second person ... Changing the facts slightly, let us assume Mr. Sean offers statements as to five conclusions as they relate to his agency and Mr. Connor notes his agreement with four of these conclusions, but expresses reservations as to Mr. Sean's fifth conclusion and makes a different conclusion on this fifth issue as it relates to his agency. An ... ...
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