Commonwealth v. Reyes
| Decision Date | 17 November 2020 |
| Docket Number | Docket: 1877CR00358 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH v. JOSE REYES |
| Court | Massachusetts Superior Court |
Dates: November 17, 2020
Present: Jeffrey T. Karp Associate Justice, Superior Court
County: ESSEX, ss.
Keywords: MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE AFTER A WARRANTLESS SEARCH (Paper No. 19)
Defendant Jose Reyes ("Reyes") is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has moved to suppress a firearm and other evidence seized by, and statements that he made to, the police following his arrest on May 1, 2018, in Lawrence.
On November 2, 2020, the Court conducted an evidentiary hearing on Defendant's Motion To Suppress Evidence After A Warrantless Search (Paper No. 19) ("Motion"). The Court heard testimony from Officer Robert Lakin ("Lakin") of the Lawrence Police Department, and it received in evidence two color photographs (Exhibits 1 and 2). The defendant did not testify and introduced no exhibits.
Reyes argues that the police seized him in the constitutional sense without having reasonable suspicion or probable cause he committed a crime, and that the Court should suppress the evidence and his statements to police as illegal fruits of the illegal investigatory stop and arrest. The Commonwealth makes myriad arguments in opposing the Motion, including that Reyes abandoned the evidence and police would have inevitably discovered it given that a warrant was outstanding for Reyes' arrest.
As is explained below, after thorough consideration of the submissions and arguments of counsel, and the evidence presented at the hearing, the Motion is DENIED.
The Court makes the following findings, which are based on the credible evidence produced at the hearing and the reasonable inferences the Court has drawn from the evidence. The Court finds that the testimony of Lakin was truthful and accurate on the relevant and material points. Thus, the Court credits his testimony in its entirety.
On the afternoon of May 1, 2018, Lawrence police received a complaint from an identified citizen who lived near Brook St. Park ("Park"). The citizen stated that there were several men sitting on the basketball court inside the Park with dice and a hookah nearby, and they were gambling and smoking marijuana at the basketball court.
At 1:50 PM, Lawrence police dispatched then-officer Lakin to the Park in response to the citizen complaint.1 Lakin had been a patrol officer for approximately 41A years. He was very familiar with the Park and the surrounding area. Lakin was in full uniform. His badge and gun were visible. Lakin was operating a marked police cruiser and was working alone. At the time, he understood that gambling in a public place, such as a park, is illegal and would subject persons to arrest if it occurred in his presence.
The Park is located in a mixed residential and commercial area, and is bordered on at least one side by the rear of homes located on Brooks Street. The Park has a parking area, a basketball court, a children's playground area adjacent to the basketball court, and a large field with gazebos. A gated, chain link fence encloses the basketball court. A section of this fence, which is well over six feet in height, separates the parking area and the basketball court.2
Lakin had made arrests inside the Park in the past for robberies and drug distribution. In fact, Lakin had responded to more than 100 calls for police service at the Park and the immediate vicinity. He considered it one of the highest crime areas in the City of Lawrence. Lakin was also aware that there had been two shootings in or near the Park within the prior month.
The lights on Lakin's marked police cruiser were flashing and the siren was on upon his arrival at the Park. Lakin parked his vehicle facing the basketball court. Lt. Guerrero ("Guerrero"),3 who was in full uniform, arrived in an unmarked police vehicle as Lakin exited his cruiser. Upon exiting, Lakin observed a group of approximately five males sitting on a park bench inside the basketball court (i.e., the group of males was sitting on the other side of the aforementioned chain link fence that is between the parking area and the basketball court). He observed dice and a hookah on the ground directly in front of the men, approximately one to two feet away. The hookah had smoke coming out of it.4 Lakin saw another male, later identified as Reyes, sitting approximately 18 to 20 feet beyond the group of males with the dice and hookah. Reyes was sitting alone on a park bench inside the basketball court area approximately 40 yards away from Lakin (i.e., Reyes was on the other side of the aforementioned chain link fence that separates the parking area and the basketball court). He looked at Lakin and immediately put a black backpack on his shoulder and began to run away. Reyes ran through an opening in the fence to the basketball court, near the kids' playground area. He ran away at full speed, "like his life depended on it," and Lakin pursued him. Lakin had not said anything to Reyes or the group of males. In fact, Lakin did nothing more than exit the cruiser and look toward the basketball court before Reyes fled.
The group of males looked in Reyes' direction, but stayed seated on the bench inside the basketball court. None of them ran. Lakin did not speak to any of them.
Lakin ran after Reyes because he found Reyes' reaction to his arrival at the Park to be "suspicious." Based on his training and experience, Lakin had a "hunch" that Reyes had a gun or drugs inside the backpack. At the time of the encounter, Lakin did not know Reyes and did not know there was a warrant outstanding for Reyes' arrest. Further, Lakin had not seen Reyes smoke marijuana, use dice, engage in any other criminality in the Park, or communicate in any way with the group of males on the closer park bench.
Reyes ran toward the field and gazebo area in the Park, in the direction of the back of homes on Brooks St. that abut the Park. Reyes was about 40 — 50 yards away from Lakin when Lakin saw Reyes climb over a 6' wooden stockade fence that was at the rear of a home on Brooks St., adjacent to the Park. The fence had signs on it that said "No Trespassing" and "Private Property." Reyes broke off a piece of the top of a picket on the fence as he jumped over it. He still had the backpack on his shoulder.
Lakin lost sight of Reyes after he jumped over the 6' stockade fence. Lakin was alone when he ran after Reyes and remained alone while in pursuit until he met up with other responding officers on Brooks Street.5
Lakin never identified himself to Reyes or told him to stop because Reyes was too far ahead of him. While he was giving chase, Lakin broadcast a description of Reyes and the direction in which he was running. Reyes was wearing red basketball shorts, a gray tank top, and had "distinct" long hair.
In the meantime, approximately seven officers responded to the area of Brooks Street. All responding officers were in full uniform. Lakin heard police sirens from the arriving police vehicles as he pursued Reyes.
Shortly after Lakin lost sight of Reyes at the 6' stockade fence, a detective broadcast over the police radio that he saw Reyes run onto Brooks St. and Reyes did not have a backpack. Lakin ran onto Brooks St. and observed Reyes run toward Milford Street. Reyes was no longer carrying the backpack. Lakin heard officers yelling at Reyes to stop when Reyes was running on Brooks St. in the direction of Union St. The responding officers essentially surrounded the Park and had Reyes hemmed in. Reyes ran onto Milford St., then onto Union St. He jumped over an 8' chain link fence behind 155 Union St., and then ran back onto Milford Street. Officer Fabian, who was in full uniform, arrested Reyes on Milford St. and placed him in handcuffs. This was approximately three to five minutes after Reyes first fled from Lakin at the Park.
While police were chasing Reyes, Sgt. Martinez broadcast over the police radio that he found a backpack in a backyard near 31 Brooks Street. Lakin and Sgt. Martinez went to that backyard and observed Reyes' black backpack laying on the ground, just inside the 6' stockade fence on the other side of the area where Lakin earlier observed Reyes jump over and break a piece of the fence.
Lakin brought the backpack to the area where Reyes was under arrest. He opened the backpack in Reyes' presence and found an unloaded 25 cal. firearm, a phone charger, an electronic vape, and personal papers containing Reyes' name.
Officer Lakin then read Miranda warnings to Reyes from a card he carries. Reyes understood the Miranda warnings. Officers ran Reyes for warrants and found that there was a warrant outstanding for his arrest issued by Essex Superior Court in a case charging him with assault and battery and carrying a firearm without an FID card. Officers also learned Reyes had neither an FID card nor a license to carry a firearm.
Lakin placed Reyes in the rear of his cruiser. On the ride to the police station, Reyes, without being questioned or prompted, stated that when he was running away, he saw that the door of one of the responding police vehicles was open and he contemplated entering the police car and driving away.
As stated, Reyes argues that the items inside the backpack and his statements6 to police should be suppressed because police seized him in a constitutional sense at a time when police lacked reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe he committed a crime.
For its part, the Commonwealth contends that when Lakin pursued Reyes after he fled from the basketball court, Lakin had reasonable suspicion Reyes committed the crime of public gambling (gaming). Alternatively, the Commonwealth argues that, if the police lacked reasonable suspicion when they initially seized Reyes, police developed probable cause to arrest Reyes for trespassing and wanton destruction of property during the pursuit. The...
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