U.S. v. Hahn

• Decision Date: 16 January 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90-8134,90-8134
• Citation: 922 F.2d 243
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lowell Alvin HAHN, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 243

922 F.2d 243

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lowell Alvin HAHN, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 90-8134.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Jan. 16, 1991.

Elizabeth Rogers, First Asst. Federal Public Defender, Lucien B. Campbell, Federal Public Defender (WTX), El Paso, Tex., for defendant-appellant.

Wayne F. Speck, LeRoy Morgan Jahn, Asst. U.S. Attys., Ronald F. Ederer, U.S. Atty., San Antonio, Tex., for plaintiff-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Before GARWOOD and WIENER, Circuit Judges, and VELA ¹, District Judge.

GARWOOD, Circuit Judge:

Defendant-appellant Lowell Hahn (Hahn) was convicted, on his conditional plea of guilty under Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2), of possession of unauthorized access devices and credit card fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 1029(a)(2), (3), and of two counts of use of a false social security number, contrary to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 408(g)(2). In this appeal from his conviction, Hahn challenges the denial of his motion to suppress, contending that the evidence was obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Alternatively, Hahn challenges a portion of the restitution order included in his sentence. We reverse and remand on the motion to suppress issue, and do not reach the restitution issue.

Facts And Proceedings Below

In 1983, Hahn jumped bail on a federal tax evasion charge pending in federal court in California. He managed to elude capture until he was finally discovered in the Midland, Texas area in 1988 using the alias "Jay Woods." On September 6, 1988, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents arrested Hahn pursuant to a federal arrest warrant for the California bail jumping offense. At the time of the arrest, the IRS agents, acting with the information that Hahn was "armed and dangerous," asked Hahn whether he had any weapons with him. Hahn told the agents that he had a rifle in the trunk of his car and a knife beside the driver's seat. The agents opened the vehicle, using keys received from Hahn, and discovered the knife and a loaded rifle. After unloading the rifle, the agents placed the weapons in the locked trunk, but did not conduct an additional search at that time.

Hahn's vehicle was impounded with the assistance of the Midland police department, who contacted their contract wrecker company. The wrecker company towed the car to its private lot, which had public access. Meanwhile, Hahn was taken to Midland City Hall and booked on the bail jumping charge. At that time, Hahn was found in possession of several credit cards in the name of "Woods," a driver's license bearing the name "Jay Lawrence Woods" and Hahn's photograph, and an automatic teller machine access device in the name of "J.L. Woods."

On the following day, September 7, 1988, Hahn appeared before the United States Magistrate for an initial appearance/removal hearing. Hahn requested appointment of counsel, and the magistrate questioned Hahn about his ability to pay. Hahn was hesitant to answer questions regarding his financial affairs, but indicated that if he could "see an inventory of what [the agents] impounded," he would know whether he had funds to pay a lawyer. Hahn clearly indicated that he thought he had money in the car, but he had no way to retrieve it and did not even know whether it was still there. ² At the conclusion of this hearing, the magistrate appointed counsel and recessed the hearing to permit Hahn to consult with counsel.

Concerned about Hahn's indications that his vehicle contained a large sum of cash, the prosecutor asked the IRS agents about the security of Hahn's vehicle. When the prosecutor learned that the car was not in police custody but was on a private lot, the prosecutor urged the agents to "go inventory this man's car, because if he does have some money in the car and it comes up missing, then you guys will be sued." Four IRS agents then went to the lot, procured the key to Hahn's vehicle from the lot custodian, and performed a thorough inventory search. The agents found a number of items, including $5,450 in cash, $1,000 in travelers' checks, several items of jewelry, and some gift-wrapped boxes. These items, which were of obvious value, were seized for safekeeping at the IRS office. Included within the items inventoried but not taken from the vehicle during this search were banking documents in the names of "Jay L. Woods" and "Henry Leon Waggoner," real estate and insurance papers, and a passport in the name of "Jay Lawrence Woods" bearing Hahn's photograph. Additionally, a number of credit cards, account statements, and insurance documents in the Woods name were found in a closed but unlocked briefcase on the front seat of the car. The entire inventory was recorded and later admitted into evidence at the suppression hearing.

After discussing the results of the inventory with the agents who searched the vehicle, a senior IRS special agent concluded that the passport, banking documents, and the briefcase containing the credit cards and invoices, which were not removed during this search, should also be seized. Accordingly, the agents retrieved those items from Hahn's vehicle the next day, September 8, 1988.

After a lengthy investigation, a superseding indictment was filed on August 10, 1989, which charged Hahn with one count of possessing unauthorized access devices (credit cards), in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1029(a)(3); ten counts of using an unauthorized access device with intent to defraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1029(a)(2); twelve counts of giving a false social security number to obtain credit, in violation of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 408(g)(2); two counts of making a false statement to a federally insured bank, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1014; and three counts of making a false statement to an agency of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1001.

Hahn filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized from the vehicle. The district court denied the motion after holding an evidentiary hearing on the issue, finding that the search had been conducted in conformity with Midland police inventory policy (although apparently inadvertently), and that the search was "undertaken in good faith and as a caretaking function." Hahn then filed a motion for reconsideration, which was also denied.

Confronted with the district court's refusal to suppress the overwhelming incriminating evidence, Hahn then, pursuant to agreement with the prosecution, entered a conditional guilty plea to the charge of possession of unauthorized credit cards, and to two counts of giving a false social security number to obtain credit. The plea agreement reserved Hahn's right to appeal the district court's ruling on his motion to suppress. The district court accepted Hahn's plea pursuant to the agreement and subsequently sentenced him to twenty-one months' imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently. In addition, the court imposed three years' supervised release on the credit card offense, and concurrent one-year terms on the social security number offenses; restitution in the amount of $224,489.68; and special assessments totaling $150. In accordance with the plea agreement, the remaining twenty-five counts were dismissed. Hahn timely filed a notice of appeal. His primary challenge on appeal is to the district court's ruling on his motion to suppress. ³

Discussion

In reviewing the district court's ruling on Hahn's motion to suppress, we must accept the district court's purely factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous or influenced by an incorrect view of the law. United States v. Maldonado, 735 F.2d 809, 814 (5th Cir.1984). The ultimate determination of reasonableness of the search, however, is a conclusion of law. See United States v. Basey, 816 F.2d 980, 988 (5th Cir.1987) (investigatory stop). Our review of such conclusions is plenary. See United States v. Muniz-Melchor, 894 F.2d 1430, 1439 n. 9 (5th Cir.1990).

This case involves two disputed "searches," or entries into Hahn's impounded vehicle. The first of these was a purported "inventory search" on September 7; the second involved the September 8 seizure of incriminating evidence discovered during the September 7 search. If the September 7 search was valid, that of September 8 would also be valid as based on probable cause. ⁴ See United States v. Johns, 469 U.S. 478, 105 S.Ct. 881, 885, 83 L.Ed.2d 890 (1985) ("A vehicle lawfully in police custody may be searched on the basis of probable cause to believe that it contains contraband...."). If the September 7 search is invalidated, however, the second search would then appear to fail as well under the "fruits of the poisonous tree" doctrine, see Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 416-17, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963), and the government does not contend otherwise.

Inventory searches are now a well-defined exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment. Colorado v. Bertine, 479 U.S. 367, 107 S.Ct. 738, 741, 93 L.Ed.2d 739 (1987). This Court has articulated the rationale behind inventory searches: "An inventory of an automobile's contents protects the owner's personal property while it is in police custody, and reciprocally protects the police against unfounded claims of lost, stolen, or damaged property." United States v. Judge, 864 F.2d 1144, 1144-45 (5th Cir.1989), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 1946, 109 L.Ed.2d 309 (1990). However, because they represent a delicately balanced exception to the general requirement for a warrant, inventory searches may not be "a ruse for a general rummaging in order to discover incriminating evidence." Florida v. Wells, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 1632, 1635, 109 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990). Accordingly, the Supreme Court has dictated that " 'a single familiar standard is essential to guide police officers, who have only limited time and expertise to reflect on and balance the social and individual interests...