U.S. v. Torres-Monje
| Decision Date | 22 May 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:06-CR-018.,1:06-CR-018. |
| Citation | 433 F.Supp.2d 1028 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Ernesto TORRES-MONJE and Vidal Rivera-Rocha, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of North Dakota |
William Delaney Schmidt, Federal Public Defender Office, Paul H. Myerchin, Bormann Law Office, Bismarck, ND, for Defendants.
Scott J. Schneider, U.S. Attorney's Office, Bismarck, ND, for Plaintiff.
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO SUPPRESS
Before the Court are separate Motions to Suppress filed by defendants Ernesto Torres — Monje and Vidal Rivera-Rocha on April 4, 2006. See Docket Nos. 27 & 31. Rivera-Rocha has since joined in Torres-Monje's motion. See Docket No. 39. Both motions seek to suppress evidence seized from a green Chevrolet Lumina that Torres-Monje was operating on January 17, 2006. The Government opposes both motions. See Docket Nos. 40 & 48. An evidentiary hearing was held on May 4, 2006, in Bismarck, North Dakota. North Dakota State Highway Patrol Trooper Jeremy Rost and United States Border Patrol Agent William Mayer testified. The Defendants did not present any evidence. For the reasons outlined below, the motions are denied.
On January 17, 2006, shortly after midnight, North Dakota State Highway Patrol Trooper Jeremy Rost entered Interstate 94 at Exit 156 in Bismarck, North Dakota, traveling eastbound. As he entered 1-94, Trooper Rost observed a green Chevrolet Lumina also traveling eastbound. The Lumina was traveling 72 miles per hour in a 60 mile-per-hour zone. Trooper Rost activated his emergency lights and initiated a traffic stop for speeding. The Lumina stopped on the south shoulder of 1-94 at mile marker 158. Trooper Rost stopped behind the Lumina. Upon illuminating the vehicle, Trooper Rost observed two male occupants in the front seat and Washington license plates. Trooper Rost contacted State Radio at approximately 12:07 a.m.
Trooper Rost exited his patrol car and approached the Lumina on the passenger side. From outside the passenger door, Trooper Rost informed the driver, Ernesto Torres-Monje, that he had stopped the vehicle for speeding. Trooper Rost asked Torres-Monje for his driver's license, vehicle registration, and insurance card. Torres-Monje produced a Washington driver's license in his name, and the passenger, Vidal Rivera-Rocha, produced an identification card from the State of Washington in his name. Both cards were handed to Trooper Rost. No vehicle registration or insurance card was produced at that time.
During his initial questioning of the driver and passenger, Trooper Rost testified that he was not getting "normal responses." He believed that Torres-Monje and Rivera-Rocha were having difficulty understanding and communicating in English. Both appeared to be Hispanic. Trooper Rost asked Torres-Monje and Rivera-Rocha if they had green cards or resident alien cards, to which both men audibly stated "no" and also shook their heads in the negative. Trooper Rost estimated that the entire conversation lasted approximately two (2) minutes.
At the time of the initial stop and while standing outside the passenger door, Trooper Rost personally observed several suspicious articles in the Lumina. A sixgallon gas can was lying on the rear seat. The carpet appeared wrinkled as though it had been manipulated or removed. No luggage was visible. Finally, the car contained multiple air fresheners, one on the passenger-side visor, and one in between the two front seats. Based on his training and expertise, Trooper Rost identified these articles as being emblematic of criminal drug activity.
Trooper Rost then walked to the driver's side of the vehicle and asked Torres-Monje to step out of the vehicle. As Torres-Monje exited the vehicle, a bottle of new car scent air freshener became visible. Torres-Monje accompanied Trooper Rost back to the patrol car and was seated in the front-passenger seat at approximately 12:11 a.m. Trooper Rost sought to verify Torres-Monje's citizenship and prepare a warning ticket for the speeding violation. Trooper Rost testified that it was his common practice to place individuals in his patrol car while securing such information.
Once inside the patrol car, Trooper Rost began to fill out the warning ticket and run the obligatory identification, license plate, and vehicle registration checks on his computer. To do so, Trooper Rost engaged in further conversation with Torres-Monje to secure some basic personal information. Again, Torres-Monje exhibited difficulty in understanding and communicating. Due to the continued difficulty in communicating, Trooper Rost contacted the United States Border Patrol on his cellular phone at approximately 12:20 a.m. to secure a Spanish-speaking interpreter. Trooper Rost explained his situation to a United States Border Patrol representative. With no Border Patrol agent readily available, the representative told Trooper Rost he would be contacted shortly. Trooper Rost waited until 12:31 a.m., at which time he called again to confirm the arrangement.
At approximately 12:32 a.m., United States Border Patrol Agent William Mayer, stationed in Grand Forks, North Dakota, contacted Trooper Rost. Trooper Rost asked Agent Mayer to confirm Torres-Monje's citizenship and to seek consent to search the Lumina. After handing the cellular phone to Torres-Monje, he and Agent Mayer engaged in a three (3) minute conversation entirely in Spanish. Torres-Monje admitted to being in the United States illegally and gave his verbal consent to search the vehicle. When Trooper Rost got the phone back, Agent Mayer relayed the information given to him by Torres-Monje. Next, Trooper Rost took the telephone to Rivera-Rocha, who remained in the front-passenger seat of the Lumina. Agent Mayer and Rivera-Rocha engaged in a two (2) minute conversation entirely in Spanish. Rivera-Rocha also admitted to being in the United States illegally. Agent Mayer then requested that both Torres-Monje and Rivera-Rocha be taken into administrative custody on his behalf, which Trooper Rost did. Agent Mayer testified that he had no intention to pursue criminal charges that evening. Instead, the defendants were picked up on an administrative arrest for being in the country illegally. Agent Mayer said it was his intention to have the defendants picked up by Border Patrol agents the next day for processing on an administrative violation.
After a brief roadside search, and the use of drug dogs, the Lumina was impounded and a state search warrant was secured. A subsequent search revealed six packages of methamphetamine, with a total weight of over six pounds, located behind the front left headlight in the left front fender area of the Lumina. Torres-Monje and Rivera-Rocha seek to suppress the fruits of the search, as well as the statements elicited. The Defendants raise two points of contention under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments respectively: (1) Trooper Rost was not permitted to ask questions regarding immigration status without reasonable suspicion and (2) either Trooper Rost or Agent Mayer was required to issue Miranda warnings to Torres-Monje prior to questioning.
The Constitution guarantees the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. United States v. Fuse, 391 F.3d 924, 927 (8th Cir.2004). A traffic stop constitutes a seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Id. (quoting United States v. Martinez, 358 F.3d 1005, 1009 (8th Cir.2004) (citing Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979)). Thus, the principles of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), govern such stops. See Fuse, 391 F.3d 924, 927. "[A] traffic `stop must be supported by at least a reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity' has occurred or is occurring." Id. (citations omitted).
In this case, the Defendants do not challenge the validity of the traffic stop. It is clear that a traffic violation creates probable cause to stop the driver of the vehicle. United States v. Linkous, 285 F.3d 716, 719 (8th Cir.2002) (citing United States v. Barry, 98 F.3d 373, 376 (8th Cir.1996) (quoting United States v. Barahona, 990 F.2d 412, 416 (8th Cir. 1993))). Upon making a valid traffic stop an officer may "conduct an investigation reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that initially prompted the stop." United States v. McCoy, 200 F.3d 582, 584 (8th Cir.2000) (citing United States v. Bloomfield, 40 F.3d 910, 915 (8th Cir. 1994)). It is well-established that as part of a reasonable investigation, an officer "may request the driver's license and registration, request that the driver step out of the vehicle, request that the driver wait in the patrol car, conduct computer inquiries to determine the validity of the license and registration, conduct computer searches to investigate the driver's criminal history and to determine if the driver has outstanding warrants, and make inquiries as to the motorist's destination and purpose." United States v. Jones, 269 F.3d 919, 924 (8th Cir.2001) (citations omitted). This may also include similar questioning of the vehicle's passengers. See United States v. Linkous, 285 F.3d 716, 719 (8th Cir.2002). An officer may detain the driver and passenger as long as reasonably necessary to conduct these activities and to issue a warning or citation. United States v. Jones, 269 F.3d 919, 925 (8th Cir.2001) (citing United States v. Wood, 106 F.3d 942, 945 (10th Cir.1997)). Once the officer has completed these activities, the traffic stop is over, but not until that time. See id. (...
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Table of Cases
...v., 162 F.3d 6 (1st Cir. 1998) 147 Torres, United States v., 2005 WL 3546677 (S.D. Ohio 2005) 44 Torres-Monje, United States v., 433 F. Supp. 2d 1028 (D. N.D. 2006) 39, 50 Tourtillott, State v., 618 P.2d 423 (Ore. 1980) 56, 59 Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293 (1963) 109 Tracy, United States v......
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Chapter 2. Traffic Detentions
...the focus on duration and not scope of questioning is just as applicable to a lawful traffic stop.”); United States v. Torres-Monje, 433 F. Supp. 2d 1028 (D.N.D. 2006) (applying reasoning of Muehler, officer could ask about immigration status following a stop for speeding); Commonwealth v. ......