U.S. v. Torres

• Decision Date: 16 August 1994
• Docket Number: No. 93-2854,93-2854
• Citation: 32 F.3d 225
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Arturo TORRES and Ramon R. Vargas-Hernandez, also known as Ramon Vargas, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 225

32 F.3d 225

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Arturo TORRES and Ramon R. Vargas-Hernandez, also known as Ramon Vargas, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 93-2854.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

Argued April 6, 1994.

Decided July 22, 1994.

Rehearing and Suggestion for Rehearing En Banc Denied Aug. 16, 1994.

Suzanne M. Wissmann (argued), Office of the U.S. Atty., Crim. Div., Fairview Heights, IL, for plaintiff-appellant.

Stanley P. Stasiulis (argued), Office of the Federal Public Defender, Benton, IL, for Arturo Torres.

Paula Phillips (argued), Phillips Law Office, Effingham, IL, for Ramon R. Vargas-Hernandez.

Before COFFEY, EASTERBROOK, and MANION, Circuit Judges.

COFFEY, Circuit Judge.

The United States appeals an order after a suppression hearing before trial suppressing 1) some 450 pounds of marijuana discovered in a trailer that was being towed by a Chevrolet Blazer in which defendant Arturo Torres, the owner, was a passenger and which Ramon Vargas-Hernandez ("Vargas") was driving, and 2) post-arrest inculpatory statements made by the defendants about the marijuana. We reverse and remand.

FACTS

On February 18, 1993, a grand jury issued an indictment alleging that Torres and Vargas "did knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marihuana, [sic] a Schedule I Controlled Substance in violation of Title 21 United States Code, Section 841(a)(1)." The marijuana was discovered and seized pursuant to a consensual search of Torres's trailer during a routine motor vehicle stop (speeding). On March 5, 1993, Torres and Vargas entered pleas of not guilty. Torres filed motions to suppress the marijuana and any inculpatory statements he may have made following his arrest, arguing that he did not consent to the search of the container in which the drugs were found and nor had he been advised of his Miranda rights prior to making his statements and that at no point did he waive those rights.

The trial judge held the suppression hearing on April 23, 1993. Vargas, who did not testify at the suppression hearing, made an oral motion which the court allowed to adopt and incorporate Torres's motions to suppress both the drugs and post-arrest statements. The district judge proceeded to hear testimony from Illinois State Police Trooper Richard Pizoni, Investigator John Nagle, and defendant Torres.

During the hearing, Trooper Pizoni stated that on February 1, 1993, at approximately 1:50 p.m., while patrolling Interstate 57 in Williamson County, Illinois, with his partner Trooper McConnell, he observed a 1985 Chevrolet Blazer towing a closed "16 or 18 foot" customized horse trailer, exceeding the posted speed limit of 55 mph. As the troopers pulled near the vehicle, the truck and trailer floated between the "fog line" and center line. The officers also noticed that the trailer's rear license plate was obstructed from view by the trailer's folding mesh ramp. Officer Pizoni testified that they activated the squad car's warning lights and directed the driver to pull the vehicle and trailer to the side of the road. After the motor vehicle stop Officer McConnell conversed with the driver, Vargas, while Officer Pizoni spoke with Torres, the passenger. According to Pizoni, Torres stated that he was traveling to East Chicago, Indiana, to visit his sister, and Vargas stated to Officer McConnell that he (Vargas) was traveling to East Chicago, Indiana, to look for employment. Pizoni stated that he and McConnell obtained Vargas's and Torres's driver's licenses and determined that Torres owned the truck and trailer. They returned to their squad car to run checks on the driver's licenses and any criminal history, including arrest warrants, and learned that both men had "criminal histor[ies]."

Pizoni issued Vargas a written warning for speeding, improper display of license plate, and improper lane usage. Vargas signed for receipt of the written warning, and was told he was free to go at this time. Pizoni asked Torres and Vargas if they had any contraband such as marijuana, cocaine or other drugs in their possession, to which they both replied in the negative, and at this time the trooper also requested permission of each of the defendants to "look[ ] through [the] vehicle." ¹ Torres and Vargas each gave their oral consent in addition to their approving and signing a written consent to search form, which read:

"I, [____________], hereby grant my consent to officers of the Illinois State Police and other law enforcement officers assisting them to search the following: [1985 blue Chevrolet pickup truck and trailer], including any part, compartment, or trunk of the vehicle and the contents of any object or container found therein.... I understand that I have the right to refuse to consent to the search described above and to refuse to sign this form. I further state that no promises, threats, force, or physical or mental coercion of any kind whatsoever have been used to cause me to consent to the search described above or to sign this form."

The form was dated February 1, 1993, 2:03 p.m., and signed by each of the defendants Torres and Vargas.

Trooper Pizoni stated that after receiving the written consent from Torres (owner), and from Vargas, to search the truck and trailer, "including any part, compartment, ... and the contents of any object or container found therein," the officers "asked both subjects, 'Please, step back to the front of our [squad] car'." At this point in time the state troopers searched the Blazer. Following the search of the truck, the police asked Torres to provide the key to the trailer, and Torres complied. After unlocking the trailer and entering it, Trooper McConnell discovered a wooden box-like compartment near the front of the trailer underneath some couch pillows. The pine board and plywood compartment was secured with "six shiny new screws," and was "about a foot wide, four-and-a-half feet tall, running the width of the nose of the trailer." Trooper McConnell asked his partner for a screwdriver. After releasing the screws and allowing for the removal of the compartment's cover, Officer McConnell discovered approximately 450 pounds of marijuana, valued at "anywhere from nine hundred thousand to one million dollars."

Torres and Vargas were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and were transported to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. At the Sheriff's Office, Illinois State Police Investigator John Nagle individually advised Torres and Vargas of their Miranda rights. Investigator Nagle testified that after orally advising Torres and Vargas of their Miranda rights, he handed each of the defendants a copy of the waiver of rights form, and observed the defendants sign the form. ² Nagle testified that after signing the forms, Torres stated that he had been "hired by ... two guys that he met down in McAllen, Texas, ... to drive the cannabis[, and] that he was going to get paid $10,000 for this trip." Torres further stated that he was to give $2,000 of the $10,000 to Vargas. Investigator Nagle testified that Vargas told him that he was aware that the trailer contained marijuana and that Torres had hired him to assist in its transportation, and further that Torres advised him that he would be paid well for his assistance. Torres contradicted Investigator Nagle, testifying at the suppression hearing that Nagle did not read him his Miranda rights until after the completion of the interview.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the parties requested the opportunity to submit written briefs. The court granted the request and adjourned the matter for review and decision. Although Torres and the government subsequently presented their written arguments to the court, Vargas did not submit a post-hearing brief. Thereafter, the district court granted the defendants' joint motions to suppress the marijuana and post-arrest statements. The court held that although Torres's and Vargas's consents to search were voluntarily given, Officer McConnell's search of the wooden compartment exceeded the scope of the defendants' consent because the defendants had not consented to "the dismantling of the fabric of the container." The court stated that "[w]hen the troopers in this case found the compartment in the trailer they needed one of two things; either probable cause to believe that the compartment contained drugs or additional consent from defendant specifically to dismantle and search the compartment. The troopers had neither." The court then noted that there was a dispute as to when the defendants were advised of their Miranda rights, but determined that "[t]he issue need not be reached, however, for the Court has already held that the search of the compartment in the trailer exceeded the scope of consent and was therefore illegal. The subsequent arrest and questioning, were products of the illegal search." The court granted the defendants' motions to suppress and ordered the marijuana found in the compartment as well as the defendants' post-arrest statements suppressed.

Following the granting of the motions to suppress, the government filed a motion requesting reconsideration of the court's ruling. The government argued, among other things, that defendant Vargas lacked standing to challenge the seizure of the marijuana because he had no interest in the ownership of the area searched and thus had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the trailer. The government noted that unlike Torres, Vargas did not testify at the suppression hearing, nor did he submit any affidavits to the court, and that it was undisputed that Vargas owned neither the Blazer nor the trailer containing the marijuana. The government argued that Vargas's attorney's questions at the suppression hearings were designed to demonstrate that Vargas was an innocent passenger who was "just riding along to Chicago with Mr. Torres," not to...