U.S. v. Clark, 84-1804
| Decision Date | 14 February 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 84-1804,84-1804 |
| Citation | 754 F.2d 789 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Rebecca Sue CLARK, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
James R. Vincent, Altoona, Iowa, for appellant.
Ronald M. Kayser, Des Moines, Iowa, for appellee.
Before LAY, Chief Judge, FLOYD R. GIBSON, Senior Circuit Judge, and BRIGHT, Circuit Judge.
Rebecca Sue Clark was convicted in a jury trial of willfully and knowingly conspiring to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846; knowingly and willfully distributing three ounces of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A), and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2; and unlawfully carrying a firearm during her commission of the offense of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c)(2). On appeal she claims that the convictions should be reversed because the district court 1 failed to suppress improperly seized evidence. We reject her claim and affirm the convictions.
Beginning in late December 1983, Special Agent Kenneth Carter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) negotiated with defendant's husband and co-defendant Lonnie Wayne Clark, for the purchase of cocaine. After making one such purchase, Agent Carter received a phone call from Lonnie Clark on January 24, 1984 in which Clark told Carter he could get between four to eight ounces of cocaine, that his drug source was en route, and that he would call the next morning with more details. The next day Agent Carter and Clark arranged a meeting at 1702 Sixth Avenue in Des Moines to transact a sale of three ounces of cocaine. Agent Carter then informed several DEA agents of the meeting and that he would need help. Special Agents Thornton and Overbaugh went to the area to conduct surveillance, spotted Clark's car, and stayed within one-half block of Clark's car at all times. When Agent Carter arrived, he saw Lonnie Clark, Rebecca Clark, and their child in Clark's car beside a drive-up phone booth facing Sixth Avenue. Agent Carter parked his car next to Clark, and Clark got in Carter's car. Clark then handed Agent Carter the cocaine in exchange for $6,300 in hundred-dollar bills with recorded serial numbers.
After this transaction, Clark left Agent Carter's vehicle, drove his own car to a nearby parking lot, and got in a white car with Illinois license plates, staying there for about ten minutes. Clark then entered his own car, and both cars started to leave the parking lot. Agent Carter drove his car in Clark's path to block his departure, while Agents Overbaugh and Thornton blocked the Illinois car. Agent Carter walked over to Clark's car, told Clark to get out, and arrested him. Three one-hundred dollar bills and a loaded .22 caliber pistol were found on Clark. Agent Carter then walked to the passenger side of Clark's car and noticed Mrs. Clark looking down as if she were reading. He knocked on the car window, told Mrs. Clark to get out of the car, and opened her door. When Agent Carter asked Mrs. Clark whether any weapons were in the car, she replied that there were none. Agent Carter then took a purse from Mrs. Clark's lap, opened it, and found a .25 caliber Beretta semiautomatic pistol inside, as well as one of the recorded one-hundred dollar bills. On searching the rest of the Clark car, agents found a bag of pills, a knife and a box of .22 caliber shells. Mr. and Mrs. Clark and the two occupants of the Illinois car were then arrested.
Before trial Mrs. Clark moved to suppress the items Agent Carter found in her purse, asserting that her arrest and the search of her purse were without warrant or probable cause. The district court denied the motion, finding that probable cause to arrest did exist. After the jury found her guilty on three counts, the court sentenced Mrs. Clark to six months in prison and three years on probation.
On appeal, Mrs. Clark contends that the agents did not have probable cause but only a mere suspicion to arrest her. She argues that because the agents observed no transaction involving Mrs. Clark and any of the other defendants, the only circumstance that could have led to her arrest was her presence in her husband's car before, during, and after the cocaine sale between her husband and Agent Carter. She then cites this court's decision in United States v. Everroad, 704 F.2d 403, 406 (8th Cir.1983), as holding that mere presence in a known or suspected criminal's car does not create probable cause to arrest.
Law enforcement officials may make a warrantless arrest in exigent circumstances, such as when a suspect may flee or destroy evidence. Id. at 405. A warrantless arrest, however, must be supported by probable cause that the suspect had committed or was committing a crime. Id. On appeal, we must uphold the district court's finding of probable cause for the warrantless arrest unless it was clearly erroneous. United States v. Purham, 725 F.2d 450, 455 (8th Cir.1984); United States v. Wentz, 686 F.2d 653, 656 (8th Cir.1982); United States v. McGlynn, 671 F.2d 1140, 1143 (8th Cir.1982). Probable cause for a warrantless arrest is determined "in terms of the circumstances confronting a...
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