U.S. v. Sapp
| Decision Date | 15 May 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. CR 02-0092 MHP.,CR 02-0092 MHP. |
| Citation | 272 F.Supp.2d 897 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of California |
| Parties | UNITED STATES Of America, Plaintiff, v. Ramon SAPP, Defendant. |
Shawn Halbert, Federal Public Defender's Office, San Francisco, CA, for defendant.
Andrew M. Scoble, U.S. Attorney's Office, Criminal Div., San Francisco, CA, George L. Bevan, Jr. U.S. Attorney's Office, San Francisco, CA, for U.S.
Defendant Ramon Sapp stands charged with multiple federal firearms violations, 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(c)(1)(A), as well as two counts of attempting to kill persons assisting federal officers in the performance of their duties, 18 U.S.C. § 1114 after a gun battle allegedly erupted when local police officers attempted to apprehend Sapp under the auspices of a federal warrant. Sapp first moves to dismiss the charges under 18 U.S.C. section 1114, maintaining that the protections of that statute do not extend to the present case, in which local officers sought to execute a federal warrant without direct involvement of federal officials. Sapp also moves to exclude evidence seized during the arrest on grounds that the arrest was unlawful because the local officers were not properly authorized to execute the federal warrant. Having considered the arguments and submissions of the parties, and for the reasons set forth below, the court rules as follows.
Ramon Sapp became the focus of a federal criminal investigation in January 2002. On January 10, 2002, the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco held a meeting with state and local law enforcement officers to address the issue of the "Thomas Paine" street gang which allegedly operated in the Western Addition area of San Francisco. Lagarejos Dec. ¶ 2. Regular meetings on the Thomas Paine gang followed. Id. The meetings were attended by representatives of the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement ("BNE"); the San Francisco Police Department ("SFPD"); the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF"); and the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California.1 Lagarejos Dec. ¶ 2; Nastari Dec. ¶¶ 2-3.
At this first meeting, Sapp was specifically identified as an enforcer for the Thomas Paine gang. Lagarejos Dec. ¶ 2. State and local officials already had been trying to arrest Sapp for approximately eight months because Sapp was wanted on a state parole warrant and was a suspect in numerous shootings in San Francisco. Nastari Dec. ¶ 5.
On January 18, 2002, during the course of a meeting of Operation Ceasefire-a local antiviolence initiative intended to bring federal, state and local agencies together to target hot spots of violence or gang activity-Sapp was identified by law enforcement officials as a suspect in the shooting of two individuals on January 15, 2002. Lagarejos Dec. ¶¶ 3, 4(a). Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan, who had hosted the January 10 meeting on the Thomas Paine gang and attended the January 18 meeting of Operation Ceasefire, began an effort specifically directed at apprehending Sapp. The following day, Bevan chaired a meeting at the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco concerning Sapp. Lagarejos Dec. ¶ 4(b), 5; Loftus Dec., Exh. 1.
On January 21, 2002, the U.S. Attorney's office opened a criminal complaint against Sapp for a federal weapons violation under 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(1), and obtained approval for the complaint and a no-bail arrest warrant from a magistrate judge the following day. At a meeting on January 23 regarding the Thomas Paine gang, Bevan informed participants of the federal warrant for Sapp's arrest and established that the attending agencies should make it a priority to arrest Sapp, as well as to resolve the January 15 shootings in order to charge Sapp in federal court. Lagarejos Dec. ¶ 6; Nastari Dec. ¶ 5.
On January 25, the SFPD issued a Crime Bulletin showing Sapp's picture under the heading "Federal Arrest Warrant Issued." Lagarejos Dec., Exh. 3. The bulletin also noted that Sapp was wanted by the California Department of Corrections for a parole warrant, but directed arresting officers not to search Sapp's vehicle or residence and instead to freeze the scene and allow federal investigators to respond and process all evidence. Id.
Between January 24 and February 1, AUSA Bevan authorized five separate subpoenas for telephone records in connection with the search for Sapp and the investigation of the Thomas Paine gang. Bevan Dec., Exhs. 1-5. Agents of the BNE and SFPD continued to search for Sapp throughout January and February. Lagarejos Dec. ¶¶ 11, 13; Nastari Dec. ¶¶ 6, 7, 9. Although federal agents participated in the search for Sapp by conducting occasional "spot checks" on a residence in Pittsburg, California, where Sapp was suspected to be hiding, ATF Agent Mabanag and AUSA Bevan agreed that state and local officers were better suited for attempts to locate Sapp due to their familiarity with the area and with Sapp himself. Mabanag Dec. Exh. 1.
On or about February 7, BNE Agent Lagarejos met with AUSA Scoble and discussed the possibility of releasing $6,409 that the SFPD had seized from alleged Thomas Paine gang leader Sofalo Brown in January. Lagarejos hoped that once Brown appeared to claim the money, he would lead investigators to Sapp. Lagarejos Dec. ¶ 12. AUSA Scoble gave his approval to this plan. Id. None of the evidence presented indicates that state or local officers received any instructions from the U.S. Attorney's office or any other federal agents between February 7 and Sapp's arrest on February 27.
On February 27, 2002, BNE and SFPD agents put Agent Lagarejos' plan into effect in a surveillance operation designed to locate and, if possible, arrest Sapp. Lagarejos Dec. ¶ 15; Grand Jury Testimony of SFPD Officer Brian Peagler, Bevan Dec., Exh. 7 ("Peagler Testimony"), at 48-49. Only BNE and SFPD agents participated in this operation. BNE and SFPD agents were briefed at the BNE office in San Francisco on the day of the operation. Lagarejos Dec. ¶ 15. SFPD returned $6,409 to Brown at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco. Using SFPD unmarked cars and an airplane, agents followed Brown and another alleged Thomas Paine member, Jamal Gregory, to the parking lot of a restaurant in the area of 108th Street and MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland. Peagler Testimony, at 50-52. A second vehicle met Brown's vehicle, and a man that agents identified as Sapp helped Brown into a white Honda and then entered the car himself. Agents followed the Honda until it pulled to a halt on the 35th Avenue exit from northbound Highway 580. The man identified as Sapp got out of the car. Grand Jury Testimony of SFPD Officer Nastari, Bevan Dec., Exh. 8 ("Nastari Testimony"), at 83-85; Grand Jury Testimony of SFPD Sergeant Inspector Halloran, Bevan Dec., Exh. 9 ("Halloran Testimony"), at 108-10. When SFPD Officers Nastari and Halloran exited their vehicles and ordered Sapp to stop, Sapp allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband and fired at them. Nastari Testimony, at 85-87; Halloran Testimony, at 110-12. Agents returned fire at Sapp as he ran into a nearby gas station, shooting him multiple times. Nastari Testimony, at 87-91; Peagler Testimony, at 53-56. SFPD Incident Report, Exh. H. Agents arrested Sapp and recovered a Beretta 9mm semi-automatic pistol from his vicinity. Sapp suffered severe gunshot wounds, resulting in the amputation of part of his leg and the loss of the use of one arm.
On March 28, 2002, a federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment against Sapp charging him with offenses that occurred on three separate occasions. Count One alleges that on September 20, 2000, Sapp possessed a firearm having been convicted previously of a felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(1). Counts Two and Three also set forth illegal possession of firearms charges which allegedly occurred between January 15 and January 22 of 2002 in connection with the shooting of two private individuals. Defendant does not challenge any of these charges in the present motion.
Counts Four through Eight concern the events surrounding Sapp's arrest on February 27, 2003.
Based on the shots Sapp allegedly fired at Officer Nastari and Sergeant Halloran of the SFPD immediately prior to his arrest, the government charged Sapp with two counts of attempting to kill persons assisting an officer of the United States in the performance of his duties, in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 1114. The indictment also includes attendant charges alleging use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. section 924(c)(1)(A), and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(1).
I. Applicability of 18 U.S.C. Section 1114 to Attempted Killing of State and Local Officers
Sapp challenges on several grounds the two charges of attempting to kill persons assisting an officer of the United States in the performance of his duties under 18 U.S.C. section 1114. First, Sapp argues that section 1114 cannot be read to protect the state and local law enforcement officials against whom he allegedly fired, because the killing of state and local officers who are assisting in federal investigations is specifically addressed in another provision, 18 U.S.C. section 1121. Sapp also argues that because no federal officers participated in the operation leading to his arrest, Nastari and Halloran were not assisting a federal officer in the performance of his duties within the meaning of section 1114.
In interpreting a statute, a court begins with the language of the statute itself. Northwest Forest Resource Council v. Glickman, 82 F.3d 825, 831 (9th Cir.1996). The court must first determine whether the statutory language "has a plain and unambiguous meaning with regard to the particular dispute in the case." Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal Co., 534 U.S. 438, 450, 122 S.Ct. 941, 151 L.Ed.2d 908 (2002) (quoting ...
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