United States v. McBride

• Decision Date: 23 April 2012
• Docket Number: No. 10–5162.,10–5162.
• Citation: 676 F.3d 385
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Fredrick Lamar McBRIDE, Defendant–Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

676 F.3d 385

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee,

v.Fredrick Lamar McBRIDE, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 10–5162.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued: Jan. 26, 2012.Decided: April 23, 2012.

ARGUED: Jessica Ann Salvini, Salvini & Bennett, LLC, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellant. Jeffrey Mikell Johnson, Office of the United States Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: William N. Nettles, United States Attorney, Matthew J. Modica, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Before WILKINSON, GREGORY, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded by published opinion. Judge KEENAN wrote the majority opinion, in which Judge GREGORY joined. Judge WILKINSON wrote an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

OPINION

BARBARA MILANO KEENAN, Circuit Judge:

In this appeal in a criminal case, we principally consider whether there was reasonable, articulable suspicion to detain the defendant's vehicle, whether the duration of the detention was unreasonable, and whether certain prior “bad act” evidence was admissible. Fredrick Lamar McBride was tried by a jury and convicted of (1) possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C); (2) being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2); and (3) knowingly using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). We hold that the detention of the defendant's vehicle was valid, but that the district court improperly admitted certain prior “bad act” evidence of McBride's statements showing his knowledge of crack cocaine and his willingness to manufacture and distribute it. Accordingly, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the case to the district court.

I.

A.

At 6:15 p.m. on August 12, 2009, Lieutenant Phillip Ardis and Agent Harold Kennedy III, undercover officers of the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina, drove by the Nu Vibe Club (the club), an establishment with which Ardis was familiar. In his decades in law enforcement, Ardis had driven by the club many times, and recalled that it generally did not open until about midnight. He became interested, therefore, when he observed two cars in the club's parking lot in the early evening.

Ardis also had personal knowledge of past criminal activity at the club. In 2007, he had been involved in an investigation regarding drug activity there. According to his information at that time, certain men were known to deliver illegal drugs to the club.

Based on this information and the unusual hour for activity at the club, Ardis and Kennedy decided to observe the club from a nearby automobile dealership. While looking through binoculars at the club's parking lot, the officers saw four vehicles stop at the club for varying lengths of time over the course of an hour. When the last vehicle, a blue Ford Explorer truck, entered the lot, a black male in a white tee shirt immediately came out from the club and walked with the driver of the blue truck, a Hispanic male, to a black Cadillac SLS automobile that also was parked in the lot. The men conversed briefly, and opened the Cadillac SLS's passenger door. Although Ardis suspected that the pair was engaging in a drug transaction, he could not see their hands, and did not observe the men exchange anything between them. The black male then returned to the club, and the Hispanic male returned to his blue truck.

Following this interaction, the blue truck left the club and drove by the officers' location. It was raining at that time, and although the blue truck's windshield wipers were in motion, the truck's headlights were not activated, in violation of South Carolina law. On this basis, the officers initiated a traffic stop. When the driver of the truck was unable to produce a valid driver's license, he was placed under arrest. As the officers were escorting the passenger from the truck, they observed a black bag, which was found to contain a large amount of cash.¹

Based on the evidence retrieved from the blue truck, and his observations of the activity in the club's parking lot, Ardis decided to investigate the activity inside the club. He and Kennedy entered the club and were met at the door by the man who had been speaking earlier with the driver of the blue truck. At this closer range, Ardis recognized the man as McBride, whom he knew from a prior narcotics investigation.

Four other men were in the club at that time. Ardis recognized two of them, also from prior narcotics investigations. Ardis announced to the handful of patrons that the sheriff's office was conducting an investigation. He informed the patrons that after they provided him with identification and a description of the vehicle in which they had arrived, they would be free to leave. However, Ardis also informed the patrons that the vehicles in the parking lot were being detained by the police.

At this time, Kennedy left the club temporarily, and, while crossing the parking lot, observed that the engine of a champagne-colored Cadillac Escalade was running, and a man was sitting in the passenger seat. Kennedy reentered the club and provided this information to Ardis. They returned to the parking lot and opened the Escalade's door. Inside they noticed that the center console of the vehicle was stuffed with money to the extent that the armrest could not fully close. The officers thereafter escorted the man into the club.

After returning inside the club, Ardis began to record the patrons' information. Although McBride did not produce any identification, he stated that he was the owner of the black Cadillac SLS. Upon recording this information, and the information from the other five patrons, Ardis told all six men that they were free to leave. None left at that time.

Ardis returned to the parking lot and conferred with the sheriff, who had arrived at the scene. When Ardis asked the sheriff for authorization to request a canine narcotics unit from a nearby jurisdiction to inspect the vehicles,² he learned that such a unit was already en route from neighboring Florence County. Ardis reentered the club and stated again that the patrons were free to leave, but that their vehicles were being detained so that the canine unit could check them.

McBride's demeanor changed noticeably upon hearing that a canine unit soon would be arriving. According to Ardis, McBride “got very[,] very loud, nervous, [began] pacing back and forth, [and was] sweating profusely.” At that time, contrary to his earlier statement, McBride denied ownership of the black Cadillac SLS. Next, McBride informed the officers that he intended to leave, provided the keys to the club to a patron with instructions to lock the club after all the patrons had left, walked out of the bar, and began walking away from the club.

Following McBride's departure, a canine narcotics unit arrived at the club about 55 minutes after the vehicles first were detained. At that time, a dog trained in narcotics detection “alerted” on the black Cadillac SLS.

Using this information, and other details from the investigation, the officers obtained a search warrant for the black Cadillac SLS. A search of the vehicle revealed a photograph of McBride, his driver's license, $1,500 in cash on the floorboard behind the driver's seat, a loaded nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol in the glove compartment, and a “tin foil” package containing two plastic bags of white powder cocaine totaling 373.85 grams.

B.

Based on the evidence seized from the Cadillac SLS, the government secured a three-count indictment charging McBride with the crimes for which he ultimately was convicted. Before trial, McBride filed a motion to suppress the evidence found in the Cadillac SLS. He asserted that the detention of his vehicle before the arrival of the canine narcotics unit was not supported by reasonable suspicion, in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. McBride alternatively contended that, even if the seizure was supported by reasonable suspicion, the duration of the detention was unreasonable. After conducting a hearing, the district court denied McBride's motion.

Also before trial, the government filed notice of its intent to introduce prior “bad act” evidence, as evidence of McBride's guilt for the crimes charged, under Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence. This prior “bad act” evidence was based on an encounter between McBride and a confidential police informant named Burnell Blanding, who had attempted to purchase cocaine base, or “crack,” from McBride. Although McBride filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude this prior “bad act” evidence, this issue was not resolved before trial.

McBride pleaded not guilty, and his case was tried before a jury in the district court. The government introduced its evidence through stipulations and through the testimony of two witnesses. The prosecution's primary witness, Ardis, focused his testimony on the events of August 12, 2009. The government also elicited testimony from him, over McBride's objection, regarding the method by which powder cocaine is used to produce crack cocaine.

Following this testimony, the district court denied McBride's motion in limine to exclude the “bad act” evidence involving McBride's encounter with Blanding in 2008, and stated that the court would give the jury a limiting instruction restricting consideration of that evidence. In accordance with this ruling, the jury heard evidence that on January 14, 2008, the police used Blanding in an attempt to purchase crack cocaine from McBride in an encounter that was captured in a video recording. Blanding testified that on that day, the police equipped him with audio and video surveillance devices to record the encounter with McBride at McBride's...