U.S. v. Krankel

• Decision Date: 31 December 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-2941,97-2941
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John A. KRANKEL, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 1046

164 F.3d 1046

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John A. KRANKEL, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 97-2941.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued April 15, 1998.

Decided Dec. 31, 1998.

Randy G. Massey (argued), W. Charles Grace, Office of the United States Attorney, Criminal Division, Fairview Heights, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Peter M. Cohen (argued), St. Louis, MO, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before COFFEY, KANNE and EVANS, Circuit Judges.

COFFEY, Circuit Judge.

On March 14, 1997, a jury found the defendant-appellant, John Andrew Krankel ("Krankel"), guilty of conspiring to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. Krankel received a sentence of 360 months of imprisonment, five years of supervised release, a fine of $2,000, and a special assessment of $50. Krankel appealed his conviction and sentence, arguing that the court erred: (1) in denying his pre-trial motion to suppress the statements he gave to law enforcement officers; (2) in admitting into evidence a videotaped conversation he had with an undercover police officer; (3) in refusing to admit the testimony offered by a defense witness; and (4) in imposing sentence. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Beginning in late 1993, Jim Hamblin ("Hamblin") and Krankel operated a methamphetamine manufacturing and distributing organization in the state of Illinois. In early November of 1994, the Illinois State Police received information that Krankel wished to hire a "hit man" to murder Hamblin and proceeded to conduct an investigation. Illinois Police Sergeant Craig Koehler ("Koehler") posed as a hit man and scheduled a meeting with Krankel on November 16, 1994, at the Drury Inn in Mount Vernon, Illinois. The police videotaped the meeting and during the ensuing conversation Krankel admitted that he wanted Hamblin and his family murdered because he was of the opinion that Hamblin was attempting to drive him "out of the business" by refusing to provide him with the necessary chemicals and equipment to produce methamphetamine pursuant to their agreement. After Sergeant Koehler agreed to commit the murders for $700, Krankel gave him directions to Hamblin's house. After the meeting had concluded, the officers arrested Krankel for solicitation to commit murder and advised him of his Miranda rights. As part of their continuing investigation, subsequent to Krankel's arrest, the officers were interested in searching a house owned by Krankel and his stepdaughter, Shelly Krouse, in Conway, Arkansas. Krouse consented to the search and the officers recovered a handgun as well as chemicals and equipment used in the production of methamphetamine. Officers also searched Hamblin's residence (with Hamblin's permission) and seized other equipment and chemicals also used in the production of methamphetamine.

Krankel was charged with solicitation to commit murder in state court. On November 17, 1994, Matt Vaughn ("Vaughn") was appointed to represent the defendant. After his arraignment, Krankel contacted Illinois Police Detective Brian Harms ("Harms") on several occasions and expressed an interest in meeting and conversing with the police while offering to give information about drug activity in Illinois in exchange for leniency on his solicitation charge. On November 18, 1994, Harms and an Assistant State Attorney met with Krankel at the Jefferson County, Illinois, courthouse to discuss drug activity in Illinois. Krankel's attorney, Vaughn, was not present during the meeting. Prior to the meeting, Harms testified that he contacted Vaughn and received permission to interview Krankel outside the presence of his attorney, as long as the state solicitation charge was not discussed. Conversely, Krankel asserts that state officials did not contact Vaughn and thus did not have permission to conduct the interview. At the start of the meeting, Harms informed Krankel that Vaughn was aware of the meeting and advised the defendant of his Miranda rights. Krankel repeated much of what he had stated during the meeting on November 16 and advised the officers that he and Hamblin were partners in a methamphetamine trafficking organization and that Krankel had agreed to move to Arkansas Harms testified that after the first meeting between him and Krankel, Harms received as many as twenty additional calls from Krankel in an attempt to arrange further meetings. Harms referred Krankel to Inspector Greg Hanisch ("Hanisch") of the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force. A meeting between Krankel, Hanisch and Special Agent Herman Hogue ("Hogue") of the Drug Enforcement Agency ("DEA") occurred on December 20, 1994. Because, in the opinion of the law enforcement officers, Krankel had previously waived his right to be advised of his Miranda rights through his repeated and successful attempts to initiate contact with the police, the officers were not required to advise Krankel of his Miranda rights prior to the December 20 meeting. Furthermore, the officers stated that they had received permission from Krankel's attorney, Vaughn, to interview Krankel within certain limitations as to the subject matter that could be discussed. Specifically, according to Hogue, Vaughn requested only that the state conspiracy charge not be discussed. During the meeting of December 20, Krankel stated that Hamblin was in charge of the drug operation. He discussed how he and Hamblin divided the drug profits and again detailed his arrangement with Hamblin for his participation in the drug business, including the production and distribution of methamphetamine in Arkansas.

from Illinois to produce and sell methamphetamine. As part of this agreement to operate the drug conspiracy, Hamblin was to supply Krankel with the equipment and materials needed to produce methamphetamine. Accordingly, Krankel contended that because Hamblin failed to follow through with his part of the agreement (supplying necessary equipment and materials), he was in effect driving him out of the drug business.

On October 9, 1996, Krankel and Hamblin were indicted in the Southern District of Illinois on federal charges of conspiring to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. ¹ Prior to trial, Krankel filed a motion to suppress the statement given to law enforcement officials during the meeting of December 20, 1994, contending that the statement was inadmissible as the police had failed to properly give him his Miranda warnings. After a hearing on the motion, the trial judge denied Krankel's suppression motion on the ground that the defendant had initiated the contact and requested the meeting. The court also found that the police had received permission from the defendant's attorney, Vaughn, to meet with Krankel alone and discuss the facts and circumstances surrounding the federal drug charge only. Krankel also filed a motion in limine concerning allegedly prejudicial portions of the videotape of the November 16, 1994, meeting with Koehler, but on the day of trial, Krankel withdrew this motion. At trial, the defense also attempted to demonstrate that Krankel was not really serious about having Hamblin killed and sought to introduce evidence in hopes of establishing that the directions that Krankel had provided the hit man were purposefully inaccurate. The Government objected to the inclusion of such evidence and the trial court sustained the objection, finding the nature of this evidence to be meritless and irrelevant to the drug conspiracy charge.

On March 14, 1997, a jury found Krankel guilty of conspiring to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. At Krankel's sentencing hearing, Terry Dal Cason ("Cason"), a DEA forensic chemist, testified that the amount of chemicals found at Krankel's residence would produce approximately 1,026 grams of methamphetamine. The court found that this quantity of drugs merited a base offense level of 36 under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. A two-level increase for possession of a firearm and a two-level increase for obstruction of justice raised Krankel's offense level to 40. Based on the pre-sentence report ("PSR"), Krankel received a sentence of 360 months of imprisonment, five years of supervised release, a fine of $2,000, and a special assessment of $50.

ISSUES

On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred: (1) in denying the defendant's motion to suppress the statements made to law enforcement officials during the meetings on November 18, 1994, and December 20, 1994; (2) in allowing the entire videotaped conversation that Krankel had with undercover police officer Koehler on November 16, 1994, into evidence; (3) in refusing to allow the defense the opportunity to present evidence demonstrating that the directions to Hamblin's house provided by Krankel to Koehler during the November meeting were not accurate; and (4) in determining that Krankel be sentenced to 360 months imprisonment.

DISCUSSION

A. The District Court's Denial of the Defendant's Motion to Suppress

The defendant initially challenges the district court's denial of his motion to suppress, in which he sought to suppress his statement of December 20, 1994. The trial court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence is reviewed for clear error. See United States v. Tilmon, 19 F.3d 1221, 1223 (7th Cir.1994) (citations omitted).

The defendant contends in his brief that the December 20 statement must be suppressed because he had not been properly advised of his constitutional rights prior to the meeting, according to the requirements of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Under Miranda, 384 U.S. at 479, 86 S.Ct. at 1630, the Supreme Court recognized that under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, after a defendant invokes his privilege, he has the right to remain silent and the right to the presence of an attorney during a custodial...