U.S. v. Williams

Decision Date17 November 2005
Docket NumberNo. 05-1074.,No. 05-1062.,05-1062.,05-1074.
Citation429 F.3d 767
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Eric Lamont WILLIAMS, Appellant. United States of America, Appellee, v. Gregory Caldwell, Appellant.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Jeffrey Rosenzweig, argued, Little Rock, Arkansas, on behalf of appellant Williams.

James W. Wyatt, argued, Little Rock, Arkansas, on behalf of appellant Cadlwell.

Angela S. Jegley, Assistant U.S. Attorney, of Little Rock, Arkansas (Bud Cummins, on the brief), for appellee.

Before ARNOLD, MCMILLIAN and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.

Eric Lamont Williams and Gregory Caldwell appeal from final judgments entered upon jury verdicts finding them guilty of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute marijuana and crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. For reversal, Williams argues that the district court erred in denying his motions to suppress his statement and to sever his trial. Caldwell argues that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statements and the evidence seized from his vehicle. Both appellants argue that the district court erred in allowing the government to amend the indictments at trial. We affirm in part and reverse in part and remand the case with directions.

I. BACKGROUND

In October 2002, members of a DEA task force operating in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, received information that Williams would be transporting drugs from Los Angeles, California to Little Rock, Arkansas. The DEA set up surveillance to track his movements. Williams was picked up at the airport in Little Rock and driven to the Horizon Inn in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he was seen entering room 127. The next day he went to a hair salon at 401 N. Myrtle Avenue in Pine Bluff, a location at which a significant number of persons were observed entering and leaving again within minutes. Williams was picked up and driven to numerous locations in Pine Bluff, as well as making a round trip to Stuttgart, Arkansas. In Stuttgart, the police observed Williams stop at a residence and then at a business. At the latter he was seen talking with Caldwell.

Later Williams was seen again in Pine Bluff at 403 N. Myrtle Avenue, a residence next to the hair salon. Vehicles would pull up to the residence, Williams would come out to talk, and then the vehicles would leave. One of the vehicles was a green Ford Focus occupied by Caldwell and several unidentified passengers. Williams was observed retrieving a package from an apparently inoperable vehicle and handing the package Caldwell. Williams and a female then got into Caldwell's car and were driven to the Horizon Inn, where Williams and Caldwell entered room 127. When they exited the room and returned to the car, Williams was observed handing a package to a passenger in the front seat of the Focus before entering the vehicle himself. The car the left the hotel and made a stop at Second and Orange in Pine Bluff before continuing on.

Suspecting that drugs might be in the car, Officer Kelvin Sergeant made a radio request that the Focus be stopped if probable cause could be established to stop the vehicle. The only information transmitted was that there might be controlled substances in the car. A Pine Bluff police officer stopped the car because it was going too slowly (30-35 miles per hour in a forty-five miles per hour zone) and because the driver had crossed over the center line while approaching a curve. The officers called for a drug dog, which arrived approximately five to six minutes later and alerted to two locations in the car. Marijuana and crack cocaine were found, and Caldwell was arrested. Williams was no longer in the car when it was stopped.

Based on statements made by Caldwell after his arrest, the police obtained a search warrant for room 127 at the Horizon Inn. They found crack cocaine and marijuana and a California driver's license for Eric Williams. While the search was in progress, Williams arrived in a car driven by Aaron Dancy. Williams identified himself as Eric Dancy before being confronted with the California driver's license. Marijuana was found in a backpack in the car, and both Williams and Dancy were arrested, as was Tamika Ingram, another occupant of the room. Williams and Dancy each gave statements. Caldwell gave a second statement. Williams, Caldwell, Dancy and Ingram were indicted on conspiracy and drug possession charges.

Williams moved to suppress his statement on the ground that he was improperly advised of his rights in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), that there was no written waiver of his rights, that he did not sign his statement, and the statement was not tape-recorded. He claimed that the statement was not an accurate rendition of what he actually said, and requested that the government turn over the rough notes of the interrogation.

Williams also moved for severance of his trial from that of his co-defendants. He contended that his Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him would be violated by the admission of his non-testifying co-defendants' statements, which he argued could not be redacted in a way that would remove their prejudicial impact.

Caldwell moved to suppress his statements and the evidence taken from his car, alleging that the stop violated the Fourth Amendment. He alleged that there was no probable cause for the stop, that it was purely pretextual, and that he was unlawfully detained to await the arrival of a drug-sniffing dog. He also made a Miranda claim as to a portion of his statements.1

After hearings on the motions, the district court found that there was probable cause for the traffic stop and that the defendants had been properly Mirandized before making their statements. The district court also reviewed the rough notes of Williams's interrogation, found no material differences with the statement, and denied Williams access to them. The district court also denied Williams's severance motion.

Williams, Caldwell and Dancy were tried together. Over renewed motions and strenuous and continued objections, Caldwell's redacted statement was read to the jury. After Dancy's redacted statement was read to the jury, Dancy testified in his own defense, incriminating Williams. The district court denied Williams's renewed motion for severance.

On the third day of trial, the prosecution discovered a problem with the possession counts of the indictment. Count 4 charged that Caldwell "knowingly and intentionally possessed approximately 18.1 grams of crack cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance" in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Count 5 charged that Williams "knowingly and intentionally possessed approximately 25.2 grams of crack cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance" in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Although the statute cited in each count was the correct one for possession with intent to distribute, the indicting language failed to allege the element that the possession was with intent to distribute. The related conspiracy counts contained the intent to distribute element, but the possession counts did not. The district court determined that the omission was mere oversight or typographical error and that there was no surprise or Fifth Amendment violation, and amended the counts to add the missing element. The jury was instructed accordingly and the defendants were convicted on all counts.

II. DISCUSSION
A. Suppression

"We review the denial of a motion to suppress de novo, but review the underlying factual determinations for clear error, giving due weight to the inferences of the district court and law-enforcement officials." United States v. Coleman, 349 F.3d 1077, 1083 (8th Cir.2003), cert. denied, 541 U.S. 1080, 124 S.Ct. 2432, 158 L.Ed.2d 996 (2004). A district court's credibility determinations are entitled to great deference on review. United States v. Gregory, 302 F.3d 805, 811 (8th Cir.2002), cert. denied 538 U.S. 992, 123 S.Ct. 1815, 155 L.Ed.2d 691 (2003).

1. Caldwell

Caldwell argues that the drugs found within the car and the statements he made thereafter should have been suppressed as the fruits of an illegal stop of his vehicle. He contends that the district court erred in finding that there was probable cause to stop his vehicle, because there was no proof that any traffic violations actually occurred, and that the traffic stop was simply a pretext to search the car because the DEA "thought" there might be drugs inside. He argues that the DEA had insufficient information to establish reasonable suspicion for the stop of his vehicle, and that whatever no information was communicated to the officer who made the stop. Caldwell further claims that he was unlawfully detained for a dog sniff of his vehicle.

It is well established that even a minor traffic violation provides probable cause for a traffic stop. United States v. Barragan, 379 F.3d 524, 528 (8th Cir.2004). The subjective belief of the officer that there might be illegal drugs in the vehicle does not invalidate the stop. United States v. Martinez, 358 F.3d 1005, 1009 (8th Cir.2004). Thus, "a traffic-violation arrest ... would not be rendered invalid by the fact that it was a `mere pretext for a narcotics search.'" Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 812-13, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996)(quoting United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 221 n. 1, 94 S.Ct. 467, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973)).

Applying these standards of review to our consideration of the record, we hold that the district court's finding that there were in fact traffic violations is supported by the evidence, and thus there was probable cause for the stop of Caldwell's vehicle. In the alternative, we also hold that the collective knowledge of the DEA team was sufficient to provide reasonable...

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