U.S. v. Edmondson

• Citation: 791 F.2d 1512
• Decision Date: 24 June 1986
• Docket Number: No. 85-3852,85-3852
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gerald Lee EDMONDSON, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit)

Page 1512

791 F.2d 1512

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gerald Lee EDMONDSON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 85-3852.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

June 24, 1986.

Archibald J. Thomas, III, Jacksonville, Fla., for defendant-appellant.

Thomas E. Morris and Alan Ceballos, Asst. U.S. Attys., Jacksonville, Fla., for plaintiff-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Before KRAVITCH and HATCHETT, Circuit Judges, and TUTTLE, Senior Circuit Judge.

HATCHETT, Circuit Judge:

Appellant, Gary Lee Edmondson, appeals his conviction on four counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery on the ground that the trial court improperly admitted evidence which was the product of an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of the fourth amendment. We affirm.

FACTS

In the course of investigating a series of four bank robberies occurring over a short period of time in the Jacksonville, Florida area, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received information concerning an aborted bank robbery which they suspected was attempted by the same man responsible for the four robberies. The FBI obtained the license plate number of the car used in the aborted robbery and upon finding that it was registered to a Kathy Graham, they proceeded to her apartment for further investigation. Graham's name was the only one registered with the apartment manager as a resident of the apartment. Witnesses on the premises identified the photograph of the robber taken by a bank surveillance camera from the first robbery as that of a male who had been seen with Graham on several occasions. An agent saw a man resembling the suspect in the bank surveillance photograph step outside of the apartment onto a landing to smoke a cigarette and return inside.

After consulting an FBI legal advisor, the decision was made to knock on the door in an attempt to determine the identity of the person. The agents did not have a search nor arrest warrant. With weapons drawn, and with the vicinity in front of the apartment surrounded, the agents knocked on the door and saw Edmondson look out of the window. At this point, an agent yelled, "FBI. Open the door." Edmondson opened the door, stepped back, and placed his hands upon his head. In the apartment, the agents arrested Edmondson, searched his person for weapons, and read him Miranda rights. Edmondson stated that he did not wish to make a statement. Several items were seized. The FBI agents then took Edmondson to their office to be photographed and fingerprinted.

Approximately forty-five minutes after his arrest, two agents and a local officer entered the fingerprinting room where Edmondson was waiting; they intended to advise him of his rights again and to obtain his consent to an interview. Before the agents could do so, Edmondson interjected, "Why don't we just get this over with." The agents then stopped Edmondson from talking and advised him of his Miranda rights again, this time in writing. Edmondson read and signed the form. Edmondson then confessed to the four robberies and the attempted robbery. After admitting that he lived in the apartment in which he was arrested, Edmondson signed a form consenting to a search of the apartment and directed the agents to a large amount of cash hidden in the apartment.

An evidentiary hearing on appellant's motion to suppress was conducted prior to trial. The district court entered an order granting in part and denying in part Edmondson's motion to suppress. The district court found that Edmondson's warrantless arrest was illegal and that the evidence seized at the time of the arrest was to be suppressed. The district court determined, however, that Edmondson's confession and consent to search were both sufficiently attenuated of any taint from the illegal arrest. Thus, they were acts of Edmondson's free will. Edmondson was found guilty as charged on all counts.

DISCUSSION

Edmondson urges that the district court was correct in finding the agents' entry into his apartment to be in violation of the rule announced in Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980). He contends that his two confessions and the evidence the agents obtained at the time of their search of the apartment were all products of an unlawful search, were not sufficiently attenuated from the illegal arrest, and should not have been admitted at trial. The government argues that its search was not illegal because it had probable cause to arrest Edmondson, and that exigent circumstances justified their entry into his home to effect the arrest, and alternatively, because his actions at the time the agents sought to enter the apartment amounted to a consent to enter the apartment.

1. Arrest

A warrantless, nonconsensual entry into a suspect's home to make a routine felony arrest is presumed to be unreasonable. Payton, 445 U.S. at 586-87, 100 S.Ct. at 1380, 63 L.Ed.2d at 651. Such an entry may be proper, however, where there is both probable cause and exigent circumstances. Payton, 445 U.S. at 590, 100 S.Ct. at 1382, 63 L.Ed.2d at 653; United States v. Milian-Rodriguez, 759 F.2d 1558, 1564 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct. 135, 88 L.Ed.2d 112. The district court found probable cause existed for the arrest. The trial court's determinations at the suppression hearing are reviewed as to findings of fact on a clearly erroneous standard. United States v. Arends, 776 F.2d 262, 264 (11th Cir.1985). All facts should be construed in the light most favorable to the prevailing party. Arends at 264. A finding of fact is clearly erroneous only when a reviewing court is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. United States v. Duckett, 583 F.2d 1309, 1313 (5th Cir.1978). We find that the district court's finding that there was probable cause for arrest is not clearly erroneous.

A finding of probable cause alone, however, does not justify a warrantless arrest at a suspect's home. Exigent circumstances which make it impossible or impractical to obtain a warrant must also be present. Vale v. Louisiana, 399 U.S. 30, 90 S.Ct. 1969, 26 L.Ed.2d 409 (1970). The exigent circumstances exception encompasses situations such as hot pursuit of a suspect, risk of removal or destruction of evidence, and danger to the arresting officers or the public. United States v. Satterfield, 743 F.2d 827, 843-44 (11th Cir.1984), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 2362, 86 L.Ed.2d 262. We agree with the district court that none of these situations is present in this case and that the circumstances did not otherwise make it impossible or even imprudent for the agents to obtain a warrant before arresting Edmondson.

The government alternatively contends that the...