U.S.A. v. Meza-Corrales

• Decision Date: 11 May 1999
• Docket Number: MEZA-CORRALE,No. 98-10341,D,No. 98-10342,98-10341,98-10342
• Citation: 183 F.3d 1116
• Parties: (9th Cir. 1999) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,Plaintiff-Appellee, v. FRANCISCOefendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. RAMON LAMARK BRIDGES,Defendant-Appellant
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 1116

183 F.3d 1116 (9th Cir. 1999)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,Plaintiff-Appellee, v. FRANCISCO MEZA-CORRALES, Defendant-Appellant.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. RAMON LAMARK BRIDGES,Defendant-Appellant.

No. 98-10341 No. 98-10342

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

Argued and Submitted May 11, 1999--San Francisco, California

Filed July 16, 1999

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Richard B. Jones, Ralls, Valenzuela, Fox & Jones, Tucson, Arizona, for defendant-appellant Francisco Meza-Corrales.

Myrna Rodriguez, Law Office of Robert Hooker, Tucson, Arizona, for defendant-appellant Ramon Lamark Bridges.

Christina M. Cabanillas, Richard E. Gordon, and Anne E. Mosher, Assistant United States Attorneys, Tucson, Arizona, for the plaintiff-appellee.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona John M. Roll, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CR-97-00287-JMR.

Before: Herbert Y.C. Choy, Paul R. Michel,¹ and Sidney R. Thomas, Circuit Judges.

CHOY, Circuit Judge:

Francisco Meza-Corrales ("Meza-Corrales") appeals his jury conviction and sentence for conspiracy to possess and possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. SS 846 and 841(a)(1), respectively. Ramon Lamark Bridges ("Bridges") appeals his guilty plea conviction and sentence for possession of a firearm and ammunition after having been convicted of a criminal offense punishable by a term of imprisonment greater than one year, in violation of 18 U.S.C. S 922(g)(1). For the following reasons, we affirm the district court's decision as to Meza-Corrales but reverse as to Bridges.

Factual and Procedural Background

On March 26, 1997, Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") agents began surveillance on a residence in Tucson, Arizona. After the DEA agents saw a man carrying a brown paper bag depart from the residence, they followed and continued to observe the man, who eventually was apprehended by several Tucson Police Department ("TPD") officers. The TPD officers discovered approximately $29,000 contained inside the bag within the man's car. The DEA agents then continued surveillance of the residence, during which time they observed several other vehicles drive to the residence and remain there for only a very short time.

At this point, DEA special agent John Gazzara ("Gazzara") contacted detective Brian Cleburn, who spoke with an assistant United States attorney about these matters. Gazzara then conferred with DEA special agent Grant Murray ("Murray") about the possibility of obtaining a search warrant for the residence. Because the several other vehicles that had left the residence had not been followed successfully, Gazzara and Murray felt that it would be sensible to request consent for a search and only if that request were denied, to try to obtain a search warrant.

After meeting at a nearby staging area, DEA agents and TPD officers drove to the residence in three undercover vehicles and two marked police cars. While the agents and officers were driving to the residence, they received a radio report from a surveillance agent warning that a vehicle, a green Blazer, had arrived at the residence. As the agents and officers arrived at the residence, they spotted a man, later identified as Bridges, standing by the Blazer, leaning across its interior, and repeatedly sounding its horn.

Concerned for the safety of the arriving agents and officers, Gazzara parked his vehicle behind the Blazer to block any avenue of departure. And to stop Bridges from continuing to sound the Blazer's horn, DEA special agent Annette Campe ("Campe") pulled Bridges from the passenger's door of the Blazer, forced him in front of the Blazer, placed his hands onto the Blazer's hood, shifted him to the ground, handcuffed him, and then seated him next to the residence.

Another DEA agent then reached into the Blazer in order to turn off the ignition and the radio, the latter of which was blaring. As the agent leaned into the Blazer to do so, he noticed a semi-automatic handgun positioned on the floor mat of the front passenger's seat of the Blazer. The agent then searched the rest of the Blazer and uncovered another handgun under the driver's seat.

Campe and Murray then approached the front door of the residence. Through a transparent screen door, both observed Meza-Corrales's girlfriend, Charmaine Bayze Meza ("Bayze Meza"), inside the residence. With his weapon holstered, Murray called out to Bayze Meza in order to draw her to the front door. At first, Bayze Meza did not make any move but instead told the agents that her "husband" Frank was still in the rear interior of the residence, at which point Murray told Bayze Meza to call her "husband" Frank to the front of the residence. During this discussion with Bayze Meza, Murray learned from other agents that several individuals had been seen running from the back door of the residence. Eventually, Bayze Meza did walk to the front door, and without hesitating, Murray reached inside the doorway and pulled her outside.

Murray then saw Meza-Corrales appear from the rear interior of the residence. With his weapon still undrawn, Murray yelled at Meza-Corrales in order to draw him to the front door of the residence. Meza-Corrales finally complied.

While Murray was speaking with Bayze Meza, Gazzara and Campe ran to the back of the residence where they spotted a man, later identified as Mark Simmons ("Simmons"), running down the street. He was sweating profusely and had a fresh cut on his hand. After being stopped and questioned, Simmons admitted that he had fled from the residence. During this same time, prior to Murray's own encounter with Meza-Corrales, another agent saw Meza Corrales run from the residence, to the fence behind the residence, and then back into the residence.

After both Meza-Corrales and Bayze Meza were outside of the residence, the agents conducted a protective sweep of the residence. The agents did so because neither the residence nor the vehicles parked there had been cleared yet and the agents feared that additional weapons and/or other individuals still might be present there.

At this point, Murray informed Meza-Corrales that the agents were conducting an investigation into narcotics sales that the agents believed were occurring at the residence. Murray then walked Meza-Corrales to the driveway of the residence and still had not handcuffed him by the time that Gazzara returned from catching Simmons. However, because the surrounding area had not been fully cleared yet, an unknown number of weapons and individuals were involved, and only a small number of law enforcement personnel were present, Gazzara then instructed Murray to handcuff Meza-Corrales. Gazzara also discussed with Murray whether they should try to obtain a search warrant at this point.

Meanwhile, DEA special agent James Garten ("Garten") spoke with Bayze Meza, who was standing outside the house and had not been handcuffed or otherwise restrained. Garten asked Bayze Meza who owned the residence, to which Bayze Meza initially responded that she owned the residence but later claimed that her mother actually owned the residence. Garten then asked Bayze Meza for her consent to search the residence, which Bayze Meza granted.

Garten then walked over to where Murray and Meza-Corrales were waiting. Together Garten and Murray asked Meza-Corrales biographical questions and asked for his consent to search the residence. At this point, Meza-Corrales refused to grant his consent. Murray was then told that Bayze Meza in fact owned the residence, which caused Murray to question Meza-Corrales about who actually owned the residence. Meza-Corrales said that Bayze Meza owned the residence but that he lived there as well.

During this time, Campe sat with Bayze Meza and explained to her what was happening and why Meza-Corrales was handcuffed. Bayze Meza herself still was not restrained in any manner and was permitted to walk to the bathroom by herself and to make telephone calls while she waited for the agents to decide what their next step would be. However, Bayze Meza started to become agitated when neighbors began to gather around the residence and to stare.

Having ascertained both Meza-Corrales's and Bayze Meza's positions on the issue of consent, Garten called an assistant United States attorney to inquire whether Bayze Meza's consent was sufficient to permit the search of the residence. The assistant United States attorney told Garten that the agents legally could rely upon the consent of a single resident.

However, to be sure that Bayze Meza still consented to the search, Garten again discussed this issue with Bayze Meza. This time, she said that while she wanted to get the search over with and to let the agents inside the residence, Meza- Corrales would get very angry with her and had struck her in the past and might do so again for defying him. Bayze Meza then requested that she be allowed to speak with Meza- Corrales, who was brought over to her by the agents.

At this point, Garten again spoke with Meza-Corrales and asked him whether he would consent to a search of the residence. During this conversation, none of the agents had their weapons drawn or made any kind of threat to arrest Meza-Corrales or Bayze Meza (although both of them testified to the contrary at the motions hearing). Meza-Corrales this time consented to a search of the residence and signed a consent form in the presence of the agents.

After Meza-Corrales had signed the consent form, Gazzara told Meza-Corrales that the agents believed that there was cocaine inside the residence and that if Meza-Corrales wanted to avoid any possibility of damage to the residence when the agents searched through it, then Meza-Corrales should show Gazzara where the drugs were located. Meza-Corrales showed the agents where two bags (approximately one-half of a pound) of cocaine were located. Subsequently, via...