U.S. v. Garcia

• Decision Date: 27 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. 03 CR. 195(WHP).,03 CR. 195(WHP).
• Citation: 279 F.Supp.2d 294
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. Luis GARCIA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

279 F.Supp.2d 294

UNITED STATES of America, v. Luis GARCIA, Defendant.

No. 03 CR. 195(WHP).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

August 27, 2003.

Daniel W. Levy, David Raskin, Assistant United States Attorneys, New York City, for U.S.

Leonard F. Joy, Federal Defender Division, New York City, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PAULEY, District Judge.

On or about February 13, 2003, defendant Luis Garcia ("Garcia") was charged in a three-count indictment (the "Indictment") with: (1) possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); (2) possession of a controlled substance, specifically, 475 tablets of ecstasy, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 812, 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C); and (3) possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i). Currently before this Court is Garcia's motion pursuant to Rule 12(b)(3)(C) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to suppress: (1) evidence obtained by law enforcement authorities in a search following a traffic stop; (2) an oral statement made by Garcia during his arrest; and (3) a written statement allegedly made by Garcia while in custody. (Motion to Suppress, dated April 9, 2003 ("Suppression Motion") at 1.) For the reasons set forth below, defendant's motion is denied.

BACKGROUND

On June 18, 2003, this Court held a suppression hearing during which it heard testimony from three prosecution witnesses, namely New York Police Department ("NYPD") officers Russell Argila ("Officer Argila"), Sean Fogarty ("Officer Fogarty") and Kevin McCarthy ("Officer McCarthy"), and three defense witnesses, namely Assistant Bronx County District Attorney Lauren Coyne ("ADA Coyne"), the defendant's wife, Wandy Charbonier ("Charbonier"), and Hiram Montalvo ("Montalvo"), an auto mechanic. The defendant did not testify. Further, this Court heard closing presentations from the parties on July 29, 2003. After evaluating the demeanor and credibility of the witnesses called by each side, and evaluating the exhibits, the Court makes the following findings of fact.

On the evening of January 12, 2003, Officers Argila, Fogarty and McCarthy, all of the NYPD's Bronx Anti-Crime Unit, were patrolling the Featherbed McCombs area of the Bronx in an unmarked police car driven by Officer Argila. (Transcript of Suppression Hearing, dated June 18, 2003 ("Tr.") at 5-7.) At approximately 10:30 p.m., Officer Argila noticed, and began following, a green sedan with what appeared to be excessively tinted side windows proceeding northbound on University Avenue. (Tr. at 8-9, 11, 106, 127; Government Exhibit ("GX") 1.)

The officers pulled up alongside the green sedan as it was stopped to make a left-hand turn off University Avenue onto 174th Street, and motioned for the driver to proceed with his turn. (Tr. at 12, 14, 42, 58.) As the green sedan made the turn onto 174th Street, Officers Argila and Fogarty noticed that its rear, high-mounted brake light was not working. (Tr. at 16, 42-43, 65, 86-87; GX 1.) The officers followed the green sedan as it proceeded on 174th Street for one block and made a right turn onto Montgomery Avenue, at which point the officers pulled it over. (Tr. at 17-19, 42-43, 87; GX 1.)

All three officers exited their vehicle and approached the green sedan from different sides. Officer Argila approached the driver's door, Officer Fogarty approached the passenger's door, and Officer McCarthy waited by the rear of the car. (Tr. at 18, 87, 127.) The driver's window was open, and Officer Argila spoke with the driver, Christopher Felix ("Felix"), through the open window. (Tr. at 19.) Felix told Officer Argila that the car belonged to Garcia. (Tr. at 20.)

While Officer Argila was speaking with Felix, Officer Fogarty approached the passenger's door and attempted to look into the passenger compartment. (Tr. at 88-89.) Officer Fogarty could not see in, however, because the window, which was heavily tinted, was only slightly open. As a result, Officer Fogarty opened the passenger's door. (Tr. at 21, 88-89.) As he opened the door, Officer Fogarty observed Garcia, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, lean towards the middle of the car and "nudge[ ] his elbow down over his waist" in what Officer Fogarty perceived to be an attempt to cover a "bulge" in his waist area. (Tr. at 89.)

Officer Fogarty ordered Garcia to step out of the car, and in doing so grabbed his arm to expedite the process. (Tr. at 21, 91.) Once Garcia exited the vehicle, Officer Fogarty patted him down. Officer Fogarty felt the butt of a gun in Garcia's waistband, and immediately handcuffed him while calling out "hot lunch," a pre-arranged signal indicting the presence of a firearm to the other officers. (Tr. at 22, 91-92.) After Garcia was handcuffed, and as Officer Argila began a search of the car, Officer Fogarty asked Garcia "is there anything else you want to tell us about," to which Garcia replied that he had ecstasy pills secreted in his groin area. (Tr. at 93, 102.) Neither Officer Fogarty nor any other officer attempted to recover the pills at that time.

Officer McCarthy drove the green sedan to the 46th Precinct, while Officers Argila and Fogarty followed in their unmarked police car with Felix and Garcia. (Tr. at 24, 94.) When they arrived at the Precinct, Officers McCarthy and Fogarty searched Garcia and recovered 475 tablets of ecstasy from Garcia's groin area. (Tr. 25-26, 67; GX 6.) He was then placed in a holding cell.

Later that same evening, Officer Argila removed Garcia from the holding cell and brought him to the arrest processing room for questioning. (Tr. at 27-28.) Officer Argila had with him a one-page form that he prepared, containing a photocopy of the Miranda warnings at the top and a blank space underneath. (Tr. at 27, 66-67; GX 2.) Officer Argila then read Garcia his rights, pausing after each statement to ask whether Garcia understood. (Tr. at 32-33.) Each time, Garcia answered in the affirmative, which Officer Argila noted by writing "yes" and his initials next to the corresponding line on the form. (Tr. at 32-33, 69-71; GX 2.) Officer McCarthy was present in the processing room when Officer Argila began to read Garcia his Miranda rights, and Officer Fogarty arrived sometime toward the middle of the presentation. (Tr. at 33-34, 98, 113, 128-29.)

After being advised of his Miranda rights, Garcia agreed to answer questions. (Tr. at 27-34; GX 2.) Officer Argila asked Garcia questions and Garcia answered, in the form of a conversation. (Tr. at 35-37, 71.) During the interview, Garcia admitted, inter alia, that: (1) the windows on the car were in fact tinted, and that he had paid to get it done; (2) while following the green sedan on the trip to the 46th Precinct, he noticed that the rear brake light was out; (3) he purchased the gun he was carrying for $200, and that he carried it because he was going to pick up ecstasy from a location in the Bronx; and (4) he was picking up the ecstasy for an unidentified woman. (Tr. at 35-38; GX 2.) Officer Argila recorded the sum and substance of Garcia's statements on the form. (Tr. at 34, 118; GX 2.) When the interview was completed, Officer Argila drew a line across the remaining blank portion of the form, signed it and dated it, and asked Garcia to review it and sign it if it was true. (Tr. at 39; GX 2.) Garcia reviewed the form, and signed it. (Tr. at 34-35, 39, 99, 116; GX 2.)

On January 13, 2003, Officer Fogarty and Assistant Bronx County District Attorney Lauren Coyne ("ADA Coyne") sat together to prepare a criminal complaint. (Tr. at 101, 119.) As a result of that session, ADA Coyne marked on the criminal case file jacket that Garcia did not make a statement to the officers, and that he had requested a lawyer. (Defendant's Exhibit ("DX") A; Tr. at 120-21.) At the suppression hearing, Officer Fogarty did not recall discussing Garcia's statement with ADA Coyne, and testified that he never told her that Garcia had asked for a lawyer. (Tr. at 101-02, 119, 121.) During her testimony at the suppression hearing, however, ADA Coyne had no present recollection of the relevant portions of her meeting with Officer Fogarty, but surmised based on her practice and the notations on the file that Officer Fogarty told her that Garcia had not made a statement and had asked for a lawyer. (Tr. at 141-42.)

At the suppression hearing, Charbonier testified that after Felix returned the green sedan to her the next morning, she brought it to Montalvo to have the brake light checked. (Tr. at 150-51, 158-59.) Montalvo testified that, when he checked the green sedan on the morning of January 13, 2003, the rear, high-mounted brake light was fully operational. (Tr. at 152, 165-66.) Charbonier also testified that she paid about $200 to have the windows on the green sedan tinted. (Tr. at 155.)

DISCUSSION

I. The Traffic Stop

A traffic stop is a limited seizure within the meaning of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. See Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979); United States v. Harrell, 268 F.3d 141, 148 (2d Cir.2001); United States v. Scopo, 19 F.3d 777, 781 (2d Cir.1994). Therefore, in order to stop a car, the police must have either "probable cause or a reasonable suspicion, based on specific and articulable facts, of unlawful conduct." Scopo, 19 F.3d at 781 (citations and internal quotations omitted); accord Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 809-10, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996) ("As a general matter, the decision to stop an automobile is reasonable where the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred."). Evidence seized incident to an unlawful traffic stop "is subject to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, and may be suppressed." Scopo, 19 F.3d at 781 (citation and internal quotations omitted).

While probable cause or reasonable...