U.S. v. Jones
| Decision Date | 07 August 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 07-40002-01/02-SAC.,07-40002-01/02-SAC. |
| Citation | 501 F.Supp.2d 1284 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Robert L. JONES, and Crystal L. Blanchard, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Kansas |
Randy M. Hendershot, Office of United States Attorney, Topeka, KS, for Plaintiff.
The case comes before the court on the defendant Crystal Blanchard's pretrial motion to suppress, evidence seized from a car she was driving on January 5, 2007, (Dk.27) and the defendant Robert Jones's motion to join the co-defendant's motion to suppress (Dk.28). The government has filed a response opposing the motion to suppress. (Dk.29). The parties presented evidence and oral argument in support of their positions on June 21, 2007. Having reviewed all matters submitted and having researched the relevant law, the court is ready to rule on the motions.
The defendants, Robert L. Jones and Crystal L. Blanchard, are charged in a single count indictment with violating 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) on January 5, 2007, in the District of Kansas, by possessing with the intent to distribute approximately 4 kilograms of cocaine.
On January 5, 2007, Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Chris Nicholas came on duty at 6:00 a.m. and began patrolling I-70 in Wabaunsee County. Less than an hour after coming on duty, he observed a dark-colored Chevrolet Impala traveling eastbound in the right lane and began following it. As he came up behind it in his marked patrol car, Trooper Nicholas observed the Impala run out of its lane and cross over the fogs line or the solid white line marking the right boundary of the lane. The car crossed over the fog line by at least the width of a tire and then returned to the right lane. Just before exit 330, Trooper Nicholas put on his emergency lights and pulled over the Impala for crossing over the fog line.
Trooper Nicholas testified he was suspicious the driver was drowsy or sleepy based upon the swerve in, combination with several other circumstances. First, there was nothing about the conditions of the road, traffic, or weather to explain the sudden movement. He saw nothing in the road to justify the sudden swerve, and the wind was light. The road was straight, and no traffic was seen in the immediate vicinity. Second, because the car had a Minnesota license plate and its exterior showed signs of having been driven recently in weather not currently experienced in Kansas, he believed there was a likelihood the car was being driven a long distance on a trip that went through Kansas. Third, it was approximately 6:55 a.m. and still dark outside. Fourth, based upon personal experience, he testified to some particular difficulty staying awake just before dawn when working an overnight shift. Fifth, he believed he had followed the Impala for less than five miles when it swerved onto the shoulder. Sixth, he testified to having worked accidents, a significant percentage of which were caused by the driver falling asleep. Trooper Nicholas did not observe any stopped cars or debris on the shoulder where the defendants' car had swerved. He also did not see any other instances of the defendants' car weaving within its lane of traffic.
Trooper Nicholas' patrol vehicle is equipped with a video camera which began recording the stop as the defendants' car was pulling over. The video recording admitted into evidence shows the defendants' car pulling onto the shoulder and its rear lamp signaling a right lane change. The car stops on the shoulder of the exit ramp. As it is dark, Trooper Nicholas is using his flashlight when he approaches the driver's side. He asks for the driver's license and paperwork. He then explains that while coming up from behind he observed the car drive off the edge of the road and asks the driver, who is later identified as Crystal Blanchard, if she's been driving for some time. The driver replied affirmatively saying they were coming from Minnesota.
Trooper Nicholas requests the passenger's license or identification and inquires if the car is a rental vehicle. Learning that it has been rented, Nicholas requests the rental papers and asks the passenger, who is later identified as Robert Jones, if he rented car. Jones replies that his name should appear on the rental papers. Trooper Nicholas then informs the driver that he's not going to write her a ticket but directs her to join him in the patrol car, which she does.
While taking her seat in the patrol car, Ms. Blanchard volunteers that she's been driving for awhile. In response to a series of questions from Trooper Nicholas, Ms. Blanchard discloses that the passenger is her boyfriend and they are going home to Minnesota from a two-day vacation in Las Vegas, Nevada, and are returning early as her mother is keeping her, son and had telephoned that her son was ill. Ms. Blanchard identifies the lessee on the rental car agreement as a cousin of her boyfriend. Trooper Nicholas thanks the driver and asks her to have her boyfriend join him in the patrol car. In the meantime, Trooper Nicholas radios dispatch with license and identification numbers.
Trooper Nicholas repeats his series of questions and receives similar answers from the passenger Jones. Jones says his cousin rented the car, as he did not have a credit card to secure it. Jones also explains his dry coughs to having been asleep when the trooper pulled them over. Trooper Nicholas instructs Jones to return to the car and notes the stop will be completed in a couple of minutes.
Based on his recorded conversations with another trooper and dispatch, Trooper Nicholas apparently knew that the rental car was due back in Minnesota on January 7th, that both defendants' drivers' licenses were suspended, and that neither of the defendants' names appeared on the rental agreement. During the stop, Trooper Nicholas turns off his microphone as he asks for social security numbers in response to dispatch's request for more identifying information on the defendants.
At approximately 7:13 a.m., Trooper Nicholas returns the paperwork to the defendant and passenger, informs them that their licenses are suspended, and gives them only a warning. He tells them to have a safe trip and takes two steps away from the car. He then steps back toward the driver's window and obtains permission to ask more questions. He asks why their names don't appear on the rental agreement, and the passenger Jones repeats that his name should be on it. Trooper Nicholas inquires next whether they have anything illegal in the car, like drugs or guns. Receiving a negative response, he follows up by asking for permission to search the car, and the passenger Jones answers, "sure."
Trooper Nicholas instructs Blanchard and Jones to exit and stand in front of their car and near the ditch. Trooper Nicholas uses the keys from the ignition to unlock the trunk and finds inside it numerous bags and what appears to be a gift box wrapped in silver paper. He observes that the box is not wrapped carefully and that wider packaging tape had been used. Less than a minute after commencing his search, Trooper Nicholas directs the backup officer, Trooper Leatherman, to ask the defendants about the contents of the wrapped package. Trooper Leatherman does so and reports back that they said it is a toy from a souvenir shop and that they would not be more specific.
Believing a gift shop would have exercised more care in wrapping the package and would have used a different kind of tape, Trooper Nicholas opens one end of the wrapped package by carefully pulling apart the taped edges and then shines his light inside the package. Seeing that the box inside originally held a car stereo speaker which is not merchandise typically sold by a gift shop, Nicholas instructs Leatherman to ask again about the package's contents. While Leatherman is away, Nicholas continues separating the wrapping paper from the tape to provide better access to one end. Nicholas accomplishes this without tearing the wrapping paper. Leatherman returns with the defendants' story that it is a 3D puzzle of the city of Las Vegas and a pair of shoes in a larger box that he asked the mall salesperson to find for his gifts. What Trooper Nicholas feels on the outside of the box and what he hears when he shakes the package does not match the defendant's story. Trooper Nicholas then pries open the end of the box and reaches inside while Trooper Leatherman also pulls back on the paper and box. With his hand inside feeling the contents, Trooper Nicholas infers the package contains illegal narcotics based on its plastic wrapping, size, and hardness. The defendants are placed under arrest, and the box is opened to find four kilograms of cocaine powder.
The defendant Blanchard's motion raises two challenges to the search of the car. First, did Trooper Nicholas have reasonable suspicion to make the initial traffic stop? The defendants contend that Trooper Nicholas did not have reasonable suspicion that the defendant Blanchard in crossing over the fog line once violated K.S.A. § 8-1522, as that statute has been recently interpreted and applied by the Kansas Court of Appeals. The defendants' second challenge is whether Trooper Nicholas exceeded the scope of the consensual search in unwrapping the package found in the trunk? The defendants analogize the wrapped package to a locked container for which officers must seek specific permission to open and they may not rely on the general consent to search.
A traffic stop is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Taverna, 348 F.3d 873, 877 (10th Cir.2003). Routine traffic stops are analyzed under the same investigation detention principles set out in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). United States v. Hunnicutt, 135 F.3d 1345, 1348 (10th Cir.1998). The reasonableness of a traffic stop is determined from the dual...
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