U.S. v. Escamilla
| Decision Date | 03 September 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-2553.,No. 01-2086.,01-2086.,01-2553. |
| Citation | 301 F.3d 877 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Joahnie ESCAMILLA, Appellant. United States of America, Appellee, v. George E. Miranda, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Walter B. Nash, III, argued, Tucson, AZ, for George Miranda.
Donald B. Fiedler, argued, Omaha, NE, for Joahnie Escamilla.
William A. Mickle, II, argued, Asst. U.S. Atty., Omaha, NE, for U.S.
Before: MCMILLIAN, HEANEY and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
George E. Miranda and Joahnie Escamilla (together, "appellants") appeal from final judgments entered in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska1 after pleading guilty to charges arising out of a traffic stop where state patrol officers found five kilograms of cocaine in appellants' minivan. United States v. Miranda, No. 8:00CR109 (D.Neb. Nov. 27, 2000) (memorandum and order). For reversal, appellants argue that the district court erred in denying their motion to suppress the cocaine on the ground that the state patrol trooper unlawfully stopped their vehicle in violation of the Fourth Amendment. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
On April 20, 2000, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against appellants charging them with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Appellants immediately moved to suppress the cocaine on the ground that the April 5, 2000 stop of their minivan was unlawful. On June 28, 2000, the magistrate judge conducted an evidentiary hearing on that issue and subsequently recommended that the motion to suppress be denied. The district court reviewed the recommendation de novo and adopted it in its entirety. On January 5, 2001, Escamilla pled guilty to misprision of a felony and was sentenced to twenty-one months of imprisonment and one year of supervised release. On January 25, 2001, Miranda pled guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and was sentenced to 121 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release. Appellants now appeal the district court's denial of the motion to suppress the cocaine. The following facts, which are not in dispute, are derived from the June 28, 2000 evidentiary hearing.
At approximately 8:00 AM on Wednesday, April 5, 2000, Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Andrew Duis was driving eastbound in the left lane of Interstate 80 near Grand Island, Nebraska. He observed a grey minivan, also traveling eastbound, change from the left lane to the right lane to pass a semi-tractor trailer without properly signaling the lane change. Duis saw a driver and a passenger in the minivan and learned from dispatch that the van was a rented vehicle. He also saw that there was no luggage in the rear of the minivan. Duis testified that he waited for the minivan to completely pass the semi-tractor trailer and move back into the right lane, then activated his overhead lights to stop the minivan. The minivan pulled over onto the right shoulder of Interstate 80, and Duis pulled over behind it.
Duis walked over to the passenger side of the minivan and asked the driver, Miranda, for his driver's license and registration. Miranda told Duis that he had a valid license but that he did not have it with him, and instead gave Duis an Arizona identification card. Miranda also told Duis that there was no registration for the minivan because it was a rental vehicle. Escamilla, who was sitting in the passenger seat, produced the rental papers at Duis's request. Escamilla then showed Duis her driver's license and indicated that the minivan had been rented in her name. Duis explained the violation to appellants and told them that he would give them a written warning instead of issuing a violation ticket. Miranda said that he understood and apologized for the violation.
Duis testified that he next asked Miranda to come back to the police cruiser with him because Miranda's failure to produce a driver's license raised Duis's suspicions about whether Miranda actually was authorized to drive. Miranda agreed and accompanied Duis to the cruiser. At the cruiser, while Duis initiated a computer check to verify that Miranda was licensed to drive, Duis asked Miranda where the couple was headed. Miranda responded that they were on an early honeymoon and that they were "just cruising around." He added that they had just been in Denver, Colorado, to see the roller coasters and that they were now headed back to Tucson Arizona, because he needed to go back to work on Monday. Duis told Miranda that he was going to return the rental papers to Escamilla, and asked Miranda to wait in the cruiser.
Duis returned to the passenger side of the minivan, handed the rental papers back to Escamilla, and asked her the same question about where the couple had been traveling. Escamilla answered that they were going to Omaha, Nebraska, to meet her father, whom she had never met, to tell him that she was pregnant. Escamilla said that they planned to find her father by looking in the phone book once they arrived in Omaha. She did not mention that the couple was on an early honeymoon or that they had just come from Denver, but she did say that Miranda needed to be back in Tucson by Monday to return to work.
Duis testified that, by this point, his suspicions were raised because (1) with the sole exception of the return date, Escamilla's statements about the couple's travel plans differed markedly from Miranda's statements; (2) it seemed odd that they would travel so far to locate someone she had never met and whom they had no actual way to contact; (3) it seemed equally implausible that they would travel all the way to Denver just to see roller coasters; and (4) there was no luggage in the minivan.
Duis returned to the vehicle, received the results of the computer check, and learned that Miranda did not have a valid driver's license. Duis then gave Miranda the warning ticket and told him that Escamilla would have to drive the minivan because only she had a...
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