U.S. v. Wentz

• Decision Date: 25 August 1982
• Docket Number: Nos. 81-1346,81-1347,s. 81-1346
• Citation: 686 F.2d 653
• Parties: 11 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 788 UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Gregory J. WENTZ, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. John David RODGERS, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 653

686 F.2d 653

11 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 788

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Gregory J. WENTZ, Appellant.

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. John David RODGERS, Appellant.

Nos. 81-1346, 81-1347.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted May 17, 1982.

Decided Aug. 25, 1982.

Rebecca Thiem Benson, Degnan, McElroy, Lamb, Camrud, Maddock & Olson, Ltd., Grand Forks, N. D., for appellant Gregory Wentz.

Rodney S. Webb, U. S. Atty., Gary Annear, First Asst. U. S. Atty., Fargo, N. D., for appellee.

R. Lee Hamilton, Grand Forks, N. D., for appellant John Rodgers.

Before LAY, Chief Judge, MARKEY, ^* Judge, and HENLEY, ^** Circuit Judge.

HENLEY, Senior Circuit Judge.

Gregory J. Wentz and John David Rodgers appeal their convictions for various drug-related offenses in connection with the sale of a large quantity of hashish apparently imported from Syria concealed in backgammon boards. We affirm.

Because the facts in this case are fully set forth in the district court's ¹ memorandum and order denying appellants' suppression motion, United States v. Tirinkian, 502 F.Supp. 620 (D.N.D.1980), we limit our recitation of the facts to a brief summary. On September 17, 1980 Agent Nicks of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in Grand Forks, North Dakota, was alerted by a tip from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to a suspected drug transaction involving a man known as "Heimie" or "Henry" who was registered in room 118 of the local Holiday Inn. It was discovered that Henry Tirinkian was registered in that room. Maintaining a 24-hour surveillance, agents observed a man later identified as Wentz visit Tirinkian's room on September 20. A check of Wentz's record revealed a prior hashish conviction in Denmark. Wentz, driving his pick-up truck with a camper on the back, was later followed to the Gallery Apartments, where agents saw him enter Building E. After a short time, a man was noticed leaving Building E and driving away in a 1964 green Pontiac.

Meanwhile, the DEA learned that the RCMP's tip was based on wiretapped phone conversations in Canada and Austria. The DEA was further advised that Trevor Baird was expected to arrive in Grand Forks as a representative of Bruce Erven, who was under investigation by Canadian and Austrian authorities.

A man matching the description of Baird arrived at the Grand Forks airport in the evening of September 20, and checked into room 103 of the Holiday Inn under the name of "T. B. Davies." Later that evening he went to Tirinkian's room where agents overheard him say, "Henry, I am Trevor Baird. I was sent by Bruce Erven." Baird subsequently left Tirinkian's room with Wentz and, in the early hours of September 21, went to a house at 1105 23rd Avenue S., where the 1964 Pontiac, seen earlier at the Gallery Apartments, was parked in the driveway. Walking past the house, agents heard the sound of a power saw, ripping wood, and hammering. Later that day, Wentz and Baird were seen loading boxes, garbage bags, and a gun case in the cargo area of Wentz's truck. Also during the day, a man later identified as Rodgers was observed leaving and later returning in the 1964 Pontiac. Leaving Baird at the house, Wentz picked up Tirinkian at the Holiday Inn and drove to the airport. The decision was made to arrest Wentz and Tirinkian and, when Wentz parked at the terminal, agents blocked his exit. Although there was some conflicting testimony concerning the precise sequence of events during the next few minutes, the district court found that the agents detected the odor of hashish as they approached the truck to make the arrest. Pursuant to searches incident to arrest, agents found $26,000.00 in Canadian and American currency on Tirinkian and a quantity of hashish and heroin on Wentz.

At the time of Wentz's and Tirinkian's arrests, officers noticed broken pieces of inlaid wood in plain view in the cargo area of the truck. One of the agents then remembered receiving information that during one of the wiretapped conversations the speaker, in response to a question about the method of shipment, said something to the effect that "if you cut it carefully, you could make a nice Chinese room." Another officer connected the broken pieces of wood to a shipment of one hundred eighty inlaid backgammon boards, which had been shipped air freight from Syria, and were picked up by the consignee, Rodgers, after clearing customs.

Suspecting that the drug transaction had been completed and fearing that Rodgers and Baird would become suspicious when Wentz failed to return from the airport, Agent Nicks decided to secure the house. After knocking on the door and announcing their authority, agents entered the house and arrested Rodgers and Baird. During a cursory search of the house for other occupants, a quantity of hashish was found in plain view in the basement.

Pursuant to subsequently obtained warrants, agents searched the house, Wentz's truck, the 1964 Pontiac, the Gallery apartment where Wentz was staying, and room 103 of the Holiday Inn. A quantity of contraband was seized as a result of these searches.

All four defendants were charged with possession with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and conspiracy to commit the substantive offense, 21 U.S.C. § 846. Rodgers was also charged with illegal importation. After a nine-day jury trial, Wentz was found guilty on both counts. Rodgers was acquitted of the importation charge but was convicted of conspiracy and of simple possession.

Appellants challenge their convictions on three grounds: (1) the trial court erred in denying their motion to suppress certain evidence; (2) the trial court erred in admitting into evidence a composite tape of several wiretapped conversations; and (3) the trial court erred in refusing to grant a new trial for prosecutorial misconduct.

I. SUPPRESSION

Appellants contend that the district court erred in denying their motions to suppress evidence seized pursuant to their arrests and to the subsequently obtained search warrants. United States v. Tirinkian, supra. Although individually tailored to reflect the applicable standing considerations, see Word v. United States, 604 F.2d 1127, 1129 (8th Cir. 1979), appellants' arguments are based on the assertions that there was not probable cause for Wentz's arrest; that there was neither probable cause nor exigent circumstances justifying the warrantless entry into Rodgers' house; and that the affidavit supporting the search warrants contained deliberate misstatements as well as "fruits" of Wentz's illegal arrest and the unlawful entry into Rodgers' house.

A. Wentz's Arrest

Probable cause for a warrantless arrest "is to be assessed in terms of the circumstances confronting a reasonably cautious and prudent police officer at the time of the arrest." United States v. McGlynn, 671 F.2d 1140, 1143-44 (8th Cir. 1982). See United States v. Luschen, 614 F.2d 1164, 1171 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 939, 100 S.Ct. 2161, 64 L.Ed.2d 793 (1980); United States v. Neumann, 585 F.2d 355, 357 (8th Cir. 1978). However, when the officers' belief rests in large part on an informant's tip there must be disclosed both the circumstances underlying the informant's knowledge, and the circumstances underlying the officer's belief in the informant's reliability. ² United States v. Neumann, 585 F.2d at 357-58.

The district court found that the reliability of the tip in the present case was established by the status of the RCMP as a law enforcement agency, cf. United States v. Stevens, 509 F.2d 683, 687 n.6 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 989, 95 S.Ct. 1993, 44 L.Ed.2d 479 (1975) (officer entitled to consider information transmitted over police radio trustworthy), and by the corroboration of information obtained through independent investigation. ³ Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959). The court also found that the disclosure of the RCMP's reliance on wiretapped conversations sufficiently demonstrated the circumstances underlying the informant's knowledge. Cf. United States v. Wixom, 460 F.2d 206, 208 (8th Cir. 1972) (insufficient evidence of probable cause where "no showing as to how the informant ... came by his knowledge").

The district court's finding of probable cause for the warrantless arrest of Wentz, 502 F.Supp. at 626-27, must be upheld unless clearly erroneous. United States v. McGlynn, 671 F.2d at 1143, and cases cited therein. The agents' belief that probable cause existed to arrest Wentz and Tirinkian was based on a tip from the RCMP that information obtained from wiretapped conversations indicated that a hashish transaction would take place involving a man possibly known as "Henry" who was registered in room 118 of the Holiday Inn, and that Trevor Baird would arrive as Bruce Erven's representative with $20,000.00 to $30,000.00. In addition, independent investigation disclosed, among other things, that Henry Tirinkian was registered in room 118, that he was visited by Wentz who had a prior hashish conviction in Denmark, that a man matching Baird's description registered as "T. B. Davies," that Baird introduced himself to Tirinkian as Bruce Erven's representative, and that sounds of sawing and hammering were heard coming from Rodgers' house at unusual hours of the night. Moreover, the existence of probable cause is strongly supported by the court's finding that the agents smelled hashish as they approached Wentz's truck to make the arrest.

We conclude that the district court did not clearly err in finding probable cause to arrest Wentz, and that the search incident to his arrest was therefore valid.

B. Warrantless Entry into Rodgers' House

Appellants contend that neither probable cause nor exigent circumstances justified the warrantless entry into Rodgers' house. ⁴ Having concluded that Wentz's arrest was legal, we think it is indisputable that the entry was supported by probable cause. As a result of Wentz's arrest,...