U.S. v. Williams
| Decision Date | 11 September 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. CR. 02-50060.,CR. 02-50060. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Robert Terrill WILLIAMS, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
Before the Court is Defendant's motion to suppress evidence. For the reasons set forth below, the Court shall deny Defendant's motion.
On October 16, 2002, a grand jury charged Defendant, a convicted felon, with two counts of possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). On December 19, 2002, Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence. Defendant moves to suppress the evidence supporting Count II of the indictment only.
In Count II of the indictment, the grand jury has alleged
[t]hat on or about August 7, 2002, at or near the intersection of Mason and Dewey Streets, Flint, in the Eastern District of Michigan, ROBERT TERRILL WILLIAMS, having been convicted and sentenced on or about July 27, 1994 in the Genesee County Circuit Court, State of Michigan, of delivery of a controlled substance, a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, knowingly did possess a firearm in and affecting commerce, that is, a Hi-Point, .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol bearing serial number 304158; all in violation of section 922(g)(1) of Title 18, United States Code.
The Court conducted an evidentiary hearing in this matter on February 26, 2003. Following the evidentiary hearing, the Court permitted the parties to obtain a transcript and file supplemental briefs. Defendant filed a post-hearing memorandum on April 7, 2003. The Government filed its supplemental response brief on April 18, 2003, and Defendant filed his reply brief on April 23, 2003. The Court heard oral argument on June 4, 2003. At oral argument, the Court granted Defendant leave to submit additional evidence, which Defendant submitted on June 16, 2003.
At the evidentiary hearing, Officers Rodney Hall and Troy Simpson, and Sergeant Jimmie Edwards, all of the Flint Police Department, testified on behalf of the Government. Defendant did not produce any witnesses. Defendant offered into evidence the transcript of the preliminary examination conducted in the State of Michigan 68th District Court on August 20, 2002 concerning the events at issue in this case. Officers Hall and Simpson testified at the state court preliminary examination, and the Court received the transcript of that hearing insofar as it concerned the testimony of these two officers. Prior to the evidentiary hearing, Defendant introduced two police reports prepared regarding the events at issue in this case as exhibits to his motion to suppress evidence.
Officer Hall testified in this Court that, on August 7, 2002, he and his partner, Officer Simpson, were in uniform and assigned to third shift patrol in a fully marked patrol car. (E.H.5-6.)1 Officer Hall testified that at approximately 1:07 a.m. on August 7, 2002, he was driving the patrol car westbound on Pasadena in Flint, approaching M.L. King, and Officer Simpson was the passenger. (E.H.6.) The traffic light at M.L. King was red. (E.H.6.) As the patrol car approached the intersection, Officer Hall observed a vehicle traveling southbound on M.L. King. (E.H.6.) The vehicle turned westbound onto Pasadena, and Officer Hall testified that he heard the vehicle's tires squeal as it made the turn. (E.H.6.) The vehicle had a loud exhaust and accelerated suddenly after making the turn onto Pasadena. (E.H.6-7.) Officer Hall identified the vehicle as an Oldsmobile. (E.H.9, 15.) Officer Hall made sure that the intersection of M.L. King and Pasadena was clear and then drove the patrol car through the intersection and the red light. (E.H.8.)
After passing through the intersection, Officer Hall accelerated the patrol car up to the speed limit, which he believed to be thirty-five miles per hour. (E.H.8.) Although Officer Hall "had already attained the speed limit or just above, the [Oldsmobile] was still gaining speed and pulling at a greater distance." (E.H.8.) Officer Hall testified that he was "absolutely" confident that the Oldsmobile was speeding. (E.H.9.)
At the intersection of Pasadena and Mason, the Oldsmobile turned southbound onto Mason. (EH 8.) The officers followed the Oldsmobile onto Mason, and at that point, Officer Hall activated the patrol car's emergency lights and siren. (EH 8.) The Oldsmobile then turned westbound onto Dewey Street, which was the first cross-street, and came to a stop. (EH 8-10.)
Officers Hall and Officer Simpson noted two individuals in the vehicle, a male driver and a female passenger. (EH 10.) Officer Simpson approached the driver's side of the vehicle, asked the driver for his license, and, when the driver responded that he did not have a license, Officer Simpson removed him from the vehicle. (EH 10.) Officer Simpson then placed the driver under arrest for driving without an operator's license and handcuffed him. (EH 10.) While Officer Simpson was arresting the driver, Officer Hall remained near the front passenger side of the vehicle but did not question the passenger at that time. (EH 10-11.)
Officer Hall testified that, after Officer Simpson had secured the driver, "he hollered out to me that there was a gun under the passenger's front seat." (EH 11.) Officer Hall drew his weapon, ordered the passenger from the front seat, and handcuffed her. (EH 11.) After securing the passenger, Officer Hall located a .45 caliber handgun underneath the front passenger seat. (EH 11-12.) The handgun was loaded, with one round in the chamber and six or seven live rounds in the magazine. (EH 12.) At that point, the passenger was placed under arrest for carrying a concealed weapon. (EH 12.)
Officer Troy Simpson's testimony corroborated Officer Hall's version of the events leading up to the stop of the Oldsmobile on Dewey Street. (EH 23-25.) After the officers had stopped the Oldsmobile on Dewey Street, Officer Simpson approached the driver's side of the vehicle and asked the driver for his driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance. (EH 25.) When the driver indicated that he had neither a license nor identification, Officer Simpson escorted the driver out of the vehicle and placed him under arrest for driving without an operator's license. (EH 25.)2 Officer Simpson testified that the driver exited the vehicle voluntarily and that he handcuffed the driver after placing him under arrest. (EH 25.) The driver of the Oldsmobile was later identified as Defendant. (EH 30.)
After placing Defendant in handcuffs, Officer Simpson described the following events:
A. He was searched; and immediately thereafter, I was walking back to place him in the back seat of our cruiser. And I asked the driver, I said, `Is there anything inside the vehicle that's going to poke or hurt me or my partner?'
Q. And what did he say?
A. He replied, "Well, how much trouble am I going to get into?"
Q. Those were his exact words?
A. His exact words were—let me get this right—I believe those were his exact words. Yes.
Q. All right. What did you—did you say anything in response to that comment?
A. With a question like that, I'd ask him—I said,
Q. What did he say then?
A. He said, "I have a four five underneath the passenger seat."
Q. Again, those are his exact words?
A. Those were his exact words.
(EH 26.)
Officer Simpson testified that he understood Defendant's reference to a "four five" to mean a .45 caliber pistol. (EH 27.) Officer Simpson immediately advised Officer Hall of the presence of a gun under the front passenger seat. (EH 27.) Officer Simpson noted that, because the passenger was still in the vehicle, "it was important for my partner to get this person out [of] the car to make ... [it] safe." (EH 27.) Officer Simpson then placed Defendant in the patrol car and called for backup. (EH 27.) Officer Simpson confirmed that Officer Hall removed the passenger from the vehicle and handcuffed her. (EH 28.) Simpson also confirmed that Officer Hall then searched the vehicle, locating a .45 caliber handgun under the front passenger seat. (EH 28.) Thereafter, one of the officers called a tow truck and the Oldsmobile was towed from the scene. (EH 29.)
Officer Simpson testified that it was typical of him and his partner to ask whether there was anything inside of a vehicle "because we don't want to get hurt." (EH 31.) He explained, (EH 31.)
Flint Police Sergeant Jimmie Edwards testified at the evidentiary hearing that Officers Hall and Simpson brought Defendant to the criminal investigation room at the Flint Police Department in the early morning of August 7, 2002. (EH 39-40.) Sergeant Edwards testified that he advised Defendant of his Miranda rights by reading the rights to Defendant from a card. (EH 40-41.) Defendant waived his rights and agreed to speak with Sergeant Edwards. (EH 41.) Defendant acknowledged that he had been arrested because he had a gun in his car. (EH 41.) However, when Edwards asked Defendant where, when, and from whom he had obtained the gun, Defendant allegedly replied, "`I can't say.'" (EH 41-42.)
Defendant raises two primary issues in his motion to suppress evidence: (1) whether the initial stop of his vehicle was supported by probable cause; and (2) whether his post-arrest statements were obtained...
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