Government of Virgin Islands v. Williams, 83-3480

• Citation: 739 F.2d 936
• Decision Date: 24 July 1984
• Docket Number: No. 83-3481,No. 83-3480,No. 83-3501,Nos. 83-3480,83-3481 and 83-3501,83-3480,83-3481,83-3501,s. 83-3480
• Parties: GOVERNMENT OF the VIRGIN ISLANDS Appellee, v. WILLIAMS, Frederico, Appellant in, v. AYALA, Jorge, Appellant in, v. GUADALUPE, Leocadio, Appellant in
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit)

Page 936

739 F.2d 936

GOVERNMENT OF the VIRGIN ISLANDS Appellee, v. WILLIAMS, Frederico, Appellant in No. 83-3480, v. AYALA, Jorge, Appellant in No. 83-3481, v. GUADALUPE, Leocadio, Appellant in No. 83-3501.

Nos. 83-3480, 83-3481 and 83-3501.

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit.

Argued April 26, 1984.

Decided July 24, 1984.

Melvin H. Evans, Jr., argued, Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I., for appellant in No. 83-3480.

Gerald T. Groner, argued, Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I., for appellant in No. 83-3481.

Frank Ford, III, argued, Law Firm of Ford & Wynter, Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I., for appellant in No. 83-3501.

Douglas L. Capdeville, argued, Asst. U.S. Atty., Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I., for appellee.

Before SEITZ, Chief Judge, and GARTH and HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

A. LEON HIGGINBOTHAM, Jr., Circuit Judge.

All three defendants/appellants were convicted of burglary in the third degree, grand larceny, and unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, i.e. burglary. The issues presented on appeal are whether the trial court erred (1) in denying defendants' pre-trial motions to suppress evidence seized during a search of defendant Ayala's car and (2) in denying defendants' motion for judgment of acquittal on the weapons count because the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction. We find the district court's rulings proper and therefore will affirm its judgment.

I.

On May 26, 1983 the homes of Lynn Adams and Tobias Chapin were burglarized. Ms. Adams testified that she saw and spoke to an Hispanic man who was sitting in a yellow-orange "beat up" Mazda parked near her home shortly before she discovered the burglary. The Mazda's hood was up and the man claimed that he needed a "jump." Because of his "suspicious" behavior, Ms. Adams noted his license plate number at the time. When Ms. Adams left the location of the parked car and went home, which she testified took about 30 seconds, she discovered that her home had been burglarized. One of her sons then ran outside to see if the "suspicious" man and his car were still there, but they were not. She called the police about the burglary and described the car and occupant; she also gave the police the license plate number.

At trial, police Captain Calvin Lang testified that he received an All Points Bulletin ("APB") on May 26, 1983 describing a small yellow Mazda car, license plate number C-11760, wanted in connection with a burglary. The driver was described as an Hispanic male wearing a blue & white checkered shirt. Shortly thereafter, Captain Lang saw a car matching the description parked alongside the "Tool Box Store" located about two miles from the burglarized homes. Inside the car were three men, including an Hispanic male wearing a blue and white checkered shirt. Ayala sat in the driver's seat; Guadalupe sat in the front passenger seat; and Williams sat in the rear passenger seat.

Additional police then arrived, including Officer Steve Brown. He testified that he heard an APB describing the possible get-a-away vehicle as a four-door Mazda, license plate number 11760, being driven by a Hispanic male wearing a blue and white checkered shirt. Brown and Captain Lang searched the car after the defendants had been taken to the police station. Brown saw, in plain view, a camera partially concealed under the right front passenger seat. Jewelry was found in the glove compartment. Two live, 38 caliber shells, and one spent shell were found in the ripped ceiling of the car.

Captain Lang also testified that he stuck his hand inside the torn cushion of the front passenger seat and found a .38 caliber gun in a holster. He testified further that it was possible that someone sitting on the seat could feel the weapon.

Additionally, the evidence showed that Ayala was wearing a blue and white checkered shirt when apprehended by police. At trial, Ms. Adams identified the yellow car and license plate number from a photograph. The yellow car was established as belonging to Ayala.

Later that same afternoon, Defendant Williams confessed, in writing, to committing both burglaries with Ayala and Guadalupe. At trial, the references to Ayala and Guadalupe contained in Williams' confession were deleted. After giving the statement, Williams showed the police where the stolen items were hidden. The Adams' family identified several items as belonging to them while Tobias Chapin, a neighbor, identified a camera as having been stolen from his home during a burglary.

Police Sergeant Julian Williams testified that none of the Appellants had a license to possess a firearm on May 26, 1983. There also was testimony that the recovered gun was operable.

II.

Defendants Guadalupe and Ayala claim that the district court erred in denying their motion to suppress evidence seized from Ayala's car. On appeal, we must decide whether the challenged search and seizure violated defendant's Fourth Amendment rights. Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 140, 99 S.Ct. 421, 428, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978).

An essential element to a successful challenge of a search and seizure of a car on Fourth Amendment grounds is the existence of a legitimate expectation of privacy. United States v. Salvucci, 448 U.S. 83, 93, 100 S.Ct. 2547, 2553, 65 L.Ed.2d 619 (1980). Rakas, 439 U.S. at 140-50, 99 S.Ct. at 428-34. There is, however, no recognition of the legitimacy of a defendant's expectations of privacy where the area searched is in the control of a third party. Id. at 132-33, 99 S.Ct. at 424-25. "Fourth Amendment rights are personal rights, which, like some other constitutional rights, may not be vicariously asserted." Id. at 133-34, 99 S.Ct. at 425. "A person who is aggrieved by an illegal search and seizure only through the introduction of damaging evidence secured by a search of a third person's premises or property has not had any of his Fourth Amendment rights infringed." Id. at 134, 99 S.Ct. at 425.

In Rakas the petitioners were passengers in a car which they did not own and had not leased. A search and seizure of that car produced items from the glove compartment and area under the seat. Petitioners claimed no property interest in the seized items. Nonetheless, they sought to exclude the items from being admitted into evidence against them. The Supreme Court held that petitioners failed to establish a legitimate expectation of privacy "in the areas which were the subject of the search and seizure...." Rakas, 439 U.S. at 149, 99 S.Ct. at 433.

Guadalupe's position in this case resembles that of the petitioners in Rakas. Guadalupe was a passenger in Ayala's car when items were seized. Guadalupe claimed no ownership interest in the items which he sought to exclude from evidence. The police seized these items from under the seat, inside the torn seat and inside the car's ripped ceiling.

In Rakas, the car's glove compartment and the areas under the seat were "areas in which a passenger qua passenger simply would not normally have a legitimate expectation of privacy." Rakas, 439 U.S 148-49, 99 S.Ct. at 433. Similarly, in this case we believe Guadalupe has offered no evidence establishing a legitimate expectation of privacy in the areas under the seat, inside the torn seat and inside the car's ripped ceiling. Nor did he claim a property interest in the items seized. Consequently, because Guadalupe had no legitimate expectation of privacy in the searched areas, we believe that the district court properly denied his motion to suppress evidence.

Because Ayala owned the car that was searched and seized however, we believe that he satisfied the "legitimate expectation of privacy" requirement of successful Fourth Amendment claims. While clearing that hurdle, Ayala's motion to suppress evidence fails because the existence of probable cause justified the warrantless search and seizure of his car. See Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 48-52, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 1979-1982, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970); Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 153-56, 45 S.Ct. 280, 285-86, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925).

The standard for determining the legality of a warrantless search is whether "the searching officer [has] reasonable or probable cause for believing that the automobile which he stops and seizes" contains the items he is entitled to seize. Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. at 155-56, 45 S.Ct. at 285-86 quoted in Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. at 49, 90 S.Ct. at 1980. In making such a determination this court may look at the entire record; it is not restricted to the evidence presented at the suppression hearing where the motion was denied. See Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. at 162, 45 S.Ct. at 288. This is true even though defendant appeals from the denial of that motion.

In Illinois v. Gates, --- U.S. ----, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983) the Supreme Court reaffirmed the "totality of the circumstances analysis" to decide the probable cause question. In this case, the evidence can be briefly summarized as follows: A police dispatcher radioed officers that a burglary was reported in East Clairmont based on a call from the owner of the burglarized home. The car was described as a yellow Mazda and the license plate number was given. The car's driver was described as an Hispanic male wearing a blue and white checkered shirt. The car was last seen in the East Clairmont area.

Within thirty minutes of this transmission, Captain Lang saw a yellow Mazda pointing in a direction away from East Clairmont. The car was about two miles away from the burglarized home. The car's driver was an Hispanic male and it contained two other males. Based on this corroborating evidence, the police took the driver as well as the two other passengers into custody.

We believe that under a totality of circumstances analysis this evidence amply supports a finding of probable cause to search and seize Ayala's car. The officers' moves were based on a report...