U.S. v. Hobbs

Decision Date30 November 2007
Docket NumberNo. 06-3371.,06-3371.
Citation509 F.3d 353
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles V. HOBBS, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Joseph H. Hartzler (argued), Office of the United States Attorney, Springfield, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

George F. Taseff (argued), Office of the Federal Public Defender, Peoria, IL, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and BAUER and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

BAUER, Circuit Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Charles V. Hobbs appeals from the district court's denials of his motions to suppress evidence obtained from searches of Hobbs's car and residence. Hobbs contends that the officers lacked probable cause to stop Hobbs and search his car or to obtain a search warrant for his house. We agree with the district judge's conclusions that probable cause existed in both instances challenged by Hobbs, and therefore AFFIRM the denials of Hobbs's motions to suppress.

I. Background

All of the matters that are the subject of this case began with a Peoria murder. In October 2004, Jason Hardges was shot and killed in the rear stairwell of a residence at 1006 Russell in Peoria, Illinois. Peoria police detective Chad Oberle investigated the death and discovered that Hardges and Hobbs had met to conduct a drug deal on the night of the murder. Oberle also learned that Hobbs had multiple violent crime convictions. Peoria police officers questioned Hobbs, who stated that he had met Hardges at CB Motors, an auto shop frequented by Hobbs, and that together they went to a nearby liquor store. According to Hobbs, both men then returned to CB Motors, where Hardges made a phone call and left shortly thereafter in a white-colored cab.

Police interviewed the liquor store owner who said that he was working the night of the murder, that he knew Hobbs and Hardges and knew that they were friends, but that neither came into the store that night. Oberle contacted all of the cab companies in the Peoria area that used white-colored cabs; none had any record of a pick-up at or near the vicinity of CB Motors on the night of the murder.

About a week after the murder, a gun found near the area of Forest Hill and Molleck Street in Peoria was linked to Hardges's death. Hobbs was questioned twice by police about Hardges's murder, but he denied any involvement.

A. Contina Gray's Statement to the Police

In April 2005, Hobbs's former girlfriend, Contina Gray, told Oberle that Hobbs had admitted his involvement in Hardges's murder to her. Specifically, Gray said Hobbs told her that he met Hardges at CB Motors to conduct a drug deal; that they went to 1006 Russell Street, where Hobbs made Hardges open the door so that his own fingerprints did not appear at the scene. As Hardges walked up the rear staircase of the house in front of him, Hobbs told Gray he shot Hardges. Hobbs said that Hardges fell backwards down the stairs, and that he shot Hardges several more times on the landing. Hobbs told her that he disposed of the gun in the area of Forest Hill and Molleck Street.

Gray said she was living with Hobbs at the time of Hardges's murder, and that she recalled that, on the night of the murder, Hobbs borrowed her car and went out. When he returned, he seemed very nervous and wanted to watch the local news. He also asked for a plastic bag for the clothes he was wearing. Since Gray's television did not get the local news, Hobbs and Gray went to Gray's mother's house. On the way, they stopped the car and Hobbs threw the plastic bag containing his clothes into a ravine.

Gray said that she and Hobbs watched the news which reported that there had been a shooting on Russell Street and that the victim was still alive. Gray recalled Hobbs becoming so nervous that he could not sleep that night. The next day, Hobbs called Gray's mother twice to ask about any news updates on the shooting. During the second call, Gray's mother told Hobbs that the victim had reportedly died. Gray stated that after that call, Hobbs seemed more normal.

After the meeting with Gray, Oberle checked the ravine where Gray said Hobbs had discarded the clothes he wore the night of the murder. Oberle found a bag containing a sweatshirt matching the description that Gray had provided of what Hobbs was wearing the night of the murder.

Oberle noted that several other details reported by Gray had not been publicly released, including where the murder occurred (the rear stairwell of 1006 Russell Street), that Hardges had been shot multiple times, and that the murder weapon had been located at the precise location that Gray stated Hobbs told her he discarded it.

Oberle reported these details to the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office at various meetings between April and August 2005, and an assistant state's attorney advised him that there was probable cause to arrest Hobbs for Hardges's murder, but that the State's Attorney's Office hoped for a confession before charging Hobbs.

B. Hobbs's Arrest

Shortly thereafter, Oberle decided to arrest Hobbs for Hardges's murder. On the morning of August 10, 2005, Oberle went to the Peoria Heights Police Department, where Hobbs's parole officer told him that Hobbs was living at 1007 East Cox Street in Peoria Heights, Illinois, with his new girlfriend, Stephanie Turner. Oberle also reviewed a recent anonymous Crimestoppers report that stated that Hobbs was dealing drugs at the 1007 East Cox Street residence, and that Hobbs often used rental cars that he parked down the street from his residence. Oberle also reviewed a police report from July 14, 2005 filed by Hobbs and Turner that reported that their residence had been burglarized and that Contina Gray was the culprit.

While Oberle was at the Peoria Heights Police Department, other police officers conducted surveillance on Hobbs's residence. The officers discovered an Enterprise rental car parked one house down from Hobbs's residence and that the car was rented by Turner.

Around 11:45 a.m. on August 10, 2005, Oberle and another detective, Mark Lamb, took over the surveillance. Shortly after their arrival, Oberle and Lamb saw Hobbs leave his residence, walk to the rental car, and drive away. Oberle had learned during the course of his investigation that Hobbs's driver's license had been suspended. Oberle and Lamb followed Hobbs to a nearby pharmacy; when Hobbs parked, the officers pulled their car behind the rental car, and placed Hobbs under arrest for the murder of Jason Hardges.1 The officers noticed a white powdery substance on Hobbs's hands, right arm, and the right side of his clothing, which they believed to be cocaine. The officers put Hobbs in the back of their car and returned to Hobbs's car. They saw a small plastic bag and more white powdery substance on the driver's seat, as well as on the backseat and floorboard on the driver's side of the car. After the car was towed to the police station, it was determined that the white powdery substance was approximately 24 grams of cocaine.

C. The Search of Hobbs's Residence

After arresting Hobbs and recovering the cocaine from the rental car, Oberle and fellow Peoria police officer Brett VonDerHeide met at the Peoria Police Department to prepare a complaint for a search warrant for Hobbs's home. While they drafted the complaint, Peoria police sergeant Ronald Scott Cook, aware of Hobbs's arrest and possession of cocaine, went to Hobbs's house to conduct surveillance from an unmarked squad car. Cook saw Turner leave the house, look around, and then go back inside. A few minutes later, Cook saw Turner come out again and he followed her while she walked several blocks to where she briefly spoke with an unidentified man. While Cook followed her, another officer had taken over surveillance of the house.

As Turner was walking back to the residence, she looked directly at Cook and his unmarked squad car, and began walking faster. Cook believed that Turner had detected his surveillance. As a result, the officers detained Turner in front of the house. Concerned that someone else inside Turner and Hobbs's home might have seen Turner's detention and might destroy evidence, the officers entered the house using Turner's house key. The officers conducted a protective sweep to make sure no one else was present in the house.2 They found no one in the house, but they saw a small amount of an off-white powdery substance on a bedroom dresser. The officers left the house immediately after determining that no one was present and did not touch or field test the powdery substance. The officers called VonDerHeide to inform him of the substance they had seen in the house.

Meanwhile, Oberle and VonDerHeide were drafting the complaint for a search warrant. The complaint described the dwelling at 1007 East Cox Street and sought authority to search and seize cocaine and any other related items. The complaint also stated that officers saw Hobbs exit the house and go directly to a car parked on the street, that the officers stopped Hobbs as part of their criminal investigation, and that they observed an off-white powdery substance on Hobbs's pant leg. Further, the complaint stated that Oberle and Lamb looked inside the car and saw what appeared to be crack cocaine, that they then arrested Hobbs, and that the substance found both on Hobbs and in the car was determined to be 24 grams of cocaine. The complaint also noted that Hobbs was currently on parole with the Illinois Department of Corrections and was paroled to his residence at 1007 East Cox Street in Peoria Heights, Illinois, and that the officers had knowledge through their investigation that Hobbs was selling crack cocaine in the Peoria area. VonDerHeide, who authored the complaint, stated that, based on his training and experience, it is common practice for drug traffickers to keep drugs such as cocaine and other related items in their homes.3 The final pertinent paragraph of...

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