U.S. v. Chauncey

• Decision Date: 25 August 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04-1529.,04-1529.
• Citation: 420 F.3d 864
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Robert Lee CHAUNCEY, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

420 F.3d 864

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Robert Lee CHAUNCEY, Appellant.

No. 04-1529.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: October 19, 2004.

Filed: August 25, 2005.

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Edward G. Albright, argued, Pierre, SD, for appellant.

Mark Edward Salter, Asst. U.S. Atty., argued, Sioux Falls, SD, for appellee.

Before COLLOTON, LAY, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

COLLOTON, Circuit Judge.

Robert Lee Chauncey was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and aiding and abetting that offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2. He moved to suppress statements and evidence obtained after his arrest, contending that there was no probable cause to justify the arrest and a subsequent search, but the district court¹ denied Chauncey's motion. After a jury trial, Chauncey was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and sentenced to 100 months' imprisonment. He appeals his conviction, and we affirm.

I.

On May 12, 2003, Chauncey drove his companion, Mary Fast Horse, to a house in Mission, South Dakota. While Chauncey waited in the van, Fast Horse purchased approximately two ounces of marijuana for $240, apparently intending to keep one ounce for personal use and to sell the other ounce later that day in Winner, South Dakota, where Chauncey knew of a potential customer. On their way to Winner, a South Dakota Highway Patrolman, Pete Eng, encountered the vehicle and noticed that it had expired license plate tags. When Chauncey and Fast Horse pulled into an auto salvage lot, Eng followed them and initiated a conversation with Chauncey, who was just exiting the vehicle.

Chauncey told Eng that the van had been purchased recently by Mary Fast Horse. He produced a bill of sale and an expired insurance card for the vehicle, but admitted that he did not have a valid driver's license. Eng asked Chauncey to sit in the passenger seat of his patrol car while he investigated the documents. While Chauncey was still seated in the car, Eng approached the passenger side of the van and noticed Mary Fast Horse closing a drawstring bag in her lap. He also noticed a strong odor of raw marijuana emanating from the window. Eng then seized and examined Mary Fast Horse's purse, confirmed that it contained marijuana, and proceeded to handcuff both Fast Horse and Chauncey while he searched the van.

Inside the van, Eng found marijuana seeds and stems in the carpet near the van's front passenger seats. He also found a scale inside a grocery bag that was hooked to the passenger seat armrest and several sandwich bags on the floor of the van. Mary Fast Horse's purse also contained marijuana roaches and a roach clip. Eng searched Chauncey, but found no marijuana or paraphernalia on his person.

Chauncey was arrested and transported to the Winner Jail, where a drug task force officer advised Chauncey of his Miranda rights. Chauncey waived those rights and described to the agent how the marijuana found in Fast Horse's purse had been acquired, also admitting that he and Fast Horse previously had sold marijuana that was purchased with money from Fast Horse's welfare check. In addition, Chauncey submitted to a urinalysis, which later tested positive for marijuana. These statements and the urinalysis results were subsequently introduced at trial.

During the jury trial, the government also offered the testimony of Mary Fast Horse, who testified that Chauncey had encouraged her to buy an extra ounce of marijuana, promising to "make [her] money back" in Winner. The jury was instructed to consider whether Chauncey should be convicted of possession with intent to distribute, aiding and abetting such possession, or a simple possession (which was a lesser included offense). The jury found Chauncey guilty of possession with intent to distribute.

The United States Probation Office prepared a pre-sentence report recommending that Chauncey be sentenced as a career offender pursuant to USSG § 4B1.1, due to his prior convictions for distribution of marijuana and involuntary manslaughter.² Given the statutory maximum penalty of 10 years, the career offender guideline established a total offense level of 24, a criminal history category of VI, and a sentencing range of 100-125 months. The court denied Chauncey's motion for downward departure and sentenced him to a term of 100 months' imprisonment.

II.

A.

On appeal, Chauncey argues that his post-arrest statements and urinalysis should have been suppressed, because the arrest was made without probable cause. In considering the district court's denial of the motion to suppress, we review the court's legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for clear error. United States v. Petty, 367 F.3d 1009, 1011 (8th Cir.2004). We conclude that probable cause supported the arrest.

Probable cause to arrest exists when there is "a reasonable ground for belief of guilt," Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949), that is "particularized with respect to the person to be searched or seized." Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366, 371, 124 S.Ct. 795, 157 L.Ed.2d 769 (2003) (internal citation omitted). The existence of probable cause must be "viewed from the standpoint of an objectively reasonable police officer." Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 696, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996). "[P]robable cause is a fluid concept — turning on the assessment of probabilities in particular factual contexts — not readily, or even usefully, reduced to a neat set of legal rules." Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 232, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). In assessing the question of probable cause in this case, we consider whether the facts and circumstances are sufficient "to warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that" Chauncey was involved in the commission of a crime. Brinegar, 338 U.S. at 175-76, 69 S.Ct. 1302.

The facts in this case fall somewhere between two relevant decisions of the Supreme Court. In United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 594, 68 S.Ct. 222, 92 L.Ed. 210 (1948), the Court held that probable cause was lacking to arrest a passenger of a car who was present during a sale of illegal gasoline ration coupons. The Court reasoned that the passenger's presence was the only evidence linking him to the crime, and that even his presence was offset by the fact that an informant had singled out the driver of the car as the guilty party. More recently, in Maryland v. Pringle, the Court distinguished Di Re and held that there was probable cause to arrest all three occupants of a car after drugs were found beneath the back-seat armrest of the vehicle. 540 U.S. at 374, 124 S.Ct. 795. In Pringle, the Court noted that there had been no singling out of a guilty party as there had been in Di Re, and further noted that it was "reasonable for the officer to infer a common enterprise among the three" occupants. Pringle, 540 U.S. at 373, 124 S.Ct. 795.

Chauncey argues that as in Di Re, there is evidence here tending to point to another passenger, Mary Fast Horse, as the guilty party: the marijuana and drug-related items were found in her purse. However, unlike Di Re, where there was no evidence to indicate that the passenger was aware of the scheme to sell counterfeit ration coupons, the officer confronting Chauncey had several pieces of evidence tending to suggest that there was a "common enterprise" between Chauncey and Fast Horse.

First, Chauncey was driving Fast Horse's van and knew enough about its ownership and registration status to suggest that he had more than a casual relationship with Fast Horse. More important, the officer testified that the scent of the marijuana in Fast Horse's purse could be detected from outside the window of the van. Given that the odor was strong enough for the officer to smell it outside the van, it was eminently reasonable for the officer to assume that the marijuana odor was present inside the van as well, and that Chauncey therefore had knowledge that Fast Horse was carrying marijuana. The officer also observed seeds, stems, and sandwich bags on the floor of the van, and a scale inside a grocery bag hooked to the passenger seat, thus giving further reason to believe that drug-related activity in the van was open and notorious. On balance, we believe that Chauncey's case is more like Pringle than Di Re, and that there was sufficient evidence of his knowledge and participation in the marijuana possession to suggest to an objectively reasonable officer that he was involved in the commission of a crime.

Alternatively, Chauncey's arrest was justified by probable cause to believe he committed the offense of driving without a license. South Dakota law authorizes an officer who has probable cause to believe that a driver has committed a traffic offense to arrest the driver and bring him before a magistrate. S.D. Codified Laws Sections 32-2-9, 32-33-1. Arrests for traffic violations and other minor offenses are consistent with the Fourth Amendment. Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318, 354, 121 S.Ct. 1536, 149 L.Ed.2d 549 (2001).

Despite the officer's uncontested authority to arrest for the traffic stop, Chauncey argues that the arrest was nonetheless invalid because the officer did not intend to arrest Chauncey for the traffic stop. The officer arresting Chauncey testified that he had decided not to arrest Chauncey for the offense of driving without a license, and the magistrate judge found that the officer did not form the intent to arrest Chauncey until the marijuana was discovered. We accept that factual finding, but the law is clear that the officer's subjective intent does not control whether there exists probable cause for an arrest. To the contrary, the Supreme Court has held that "a traffic-violation arrest . . . would not be...