U.S. v. Williams
| Citation | 737 F.2d 735 |
| Decision Date | 26 June 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 83-2272,83-2272 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Orbry Lenny WILLIAMS, Appellant. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) |
Richard C. Turner, U.S. Atty., Ronald M. Kayser, Asst. U.S. Atty., Des Moines, Iowa, for appellee.
Terry Wright, Des Moines, Iowa, for appellant.
Before LAY, Chief Judge, and HEANEY and BOWMAN, Circuit Judges.
Orbry Lenny Williams appeals from his conviction of knowingly and intentionally distributing and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 841(a)(1), 841 (b)(1)(B), 846. We affirm.
Based upon information in a Des Moines police officer's affidavit, a state court judge, on the evening of November 2, 1982, issued a warrant to search Williams' house and his Toyota automobile. The warrant was executed that same evening. Officers seized drug paraphernalia and other evidence.
State charges were filed against Williams on November 3, 1982. Williams moved to suppress evidence obtained in the November 2 search. A suppression hearing was held and the motion was denied by the state court judge on February 10, 1983.
On May 25, 1983 a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Williams. Williams moved the District Court 1 as he had the state court to suppress the evidence obtained in the November 2 search. A suppression hearing was held in the District Court during which the state search warrant and the transcript from the state suppression hearing were stipulated into evidence. The District Court denied Williams' motion to suppress.
The state charges against Williams were dismissed in favor of the federal prosecution. The case was tried in the District Court on August 8, 1983. A jury convicted Williams and he was sentenced to two concurrent five-year terms.
Williams argues on appeal that there was not probable cause to issue a warrant to search his house or his car and that police entry of his house prior to the arrival on the scene of the already-issued search warrant violated the Fourth Amendment.
In ruling on the probable cause issue in this case, the District Court had before it the state search warrant which was issued on November 2, 1982, and its supporting affidavit. Following a review of information contained in the supporting affidavit, the District Court concluded that there had been probable cause to issue the search warrant.
On August 11, 1982, undercover officers of the Des Moines Police Department purchased one-fourth ounce of methamphetamine from known felon Raymond Lee Brodene. On August 13, 1982, undercover officers gave Brodene money for another purchase of methamphetamine that they agreed would take place on August 19, 1982. An officer purchased one-fourth pound of methamphetamine from Brodene on August 19, 1982. The transaction took place in Brodene's vehicle. Surveillance officers, as well as the undercover officer making the buy, observed an individual in a yellow 1980 or 1981 Toyota drive up to Brodene's vehicle. That individual gave Brodene methamphetamine in exchange for the money Brodene had received from the undercover officer.
Subsequent to the August 19, 1982 transaction, an informant told police that Brodene and an individual known as Buddy were involved in the supply and sale of methamphetamine. 2 Police also learned from an informant that Orbry L. Williams was known as Buddy and that he lived at 1427 Dean in Des Moines.
Police and public records confirmed that Orbry Lenny Williams was known as Buddy and listed his current address as 1427 Dean. The records further indicated that Williams and his wife owned a 1978 Coachman motor home (Iowa license plate GVK 655) and a yellow 1980 Toyota Corolla (Iowa license plate FOG 958). Additionally, Williams had a felony conviction record.
On September 16, 1982 police conducted a surveillance of Williams' house at 1427 Dean. Officers observed an individual, whom they identified as the same individual they saw driving the yellow Toyota during the August 19, 1982 methamphetamine transaction, drive away from the house in a yellow Toyota (Iowa license plate FOG 958).
Undercover officers had numerous meetings and conversations with Brodene. Brodene revealed that Bud had and was selling controlled substances during the week of October 2 to October 9, 1982. In a meeting with him on October 8, 1982, undercover officers gave Brodene money for another methamphetamine purchase. Brodene told the officers that he was to give this money to Bud and that Bud would order the methamphetamine. Following this meeting, Brodene drove to and entered a house located at 1611 Dean. Meanwhile, officers conducting surveillance at 1427 Dean on October 8, 1982, observed an individual fitting Williams' description drive a 1978 Coachman motor home (Iowa license plate GVK 655) to 1611 Dean and enter the residence. A short time later, this individual left 1611 Dean and drove back to 1427 Dean. Public utility records showed that utilities at 1611 Dean were in the name of Dale Jones. Dale Jones was known to the Des Moines Police Department Narcotics Control Unit as a drug user and seller.
Brodene told undercover officers that the methamphetamine they had discussed on October 8, 1982 would be arriving through his source's post office box at the E-14th and Ovid substation in Des Moines on or about October 13, 1982. According to Brodene, the methamphetamine came from the Tahoe City, California area in quantities up to one-half pound. Brodene described the packages of methamphetamine as being similar in size to a plastic Tupperware sandwich container.
Postal authorities informed police that box 5536 at the E-14th and Ovid substation had been rented by Williams' wife on August 18, 1982. Police also learned from telephone company records that a number of toll phone calls had been placed from Williams' phone at 1427 Dean to the Tahoe City, California area.
On October 15, 1982 a package did arrive at the E-14th and Ovid substation addressed to Williams' wife, P.O. Box 5536. The package was of the approximate size described by Brodene and weighed eight ounces. The return address on the package was 556 Oak Street, Eugene, Oregon, which proved to be a nonexistent address. Williams signed for and picked up the package at the E-14th and Ovid substation on the morning of October 15, 1982. Williams left the substation with the package and drove (in the yellow 1980 Toyota, Iowa license plate FOG 958) directly to 1427 Dean. On October 19, 1982, Brodene told undercover officers that methamphetamine had arrived on October 15, 1982 but that because Bud was nervous, he had not offered to sell the methamphetamine to him at that time.
Between October 15 and October 29, 1982, Brodene had several more conversations with undercover officers. Brodene mentioned that he would contact the officers because Bud would be getting more methamphetamine that they could buy. On October 29, 1982, Brodene contacted undercover officers, advising them that Bud had received more methamphetamine and that they could buy one-fourth pound. On November 2, 1982, Brodene again contacted undercover officers. Brodene told them that the methamphetamine was available "now," that he would make the arrangements, and that he was afraid his source would sell the methamphetamine to someone else if the officers did not make the purchase that night.
A determination as to the existence of probable cause to issue a search warrant involves "a practical, common-sense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit ... including the 'veracity' and 'basis of knowledge' of persons supplying hearsay information, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place." Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983); see also United States v. Michaels, 726 F.2d 1307, 1313 (8th Cir.1984). Under this "totality of the circumstances" analysis, it is this Court's duty to insure that there was a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed to issue the warrant in question. See id.
The affidavit in this case contained numerous facts implicating Williams in illicit drug transactions. A significant portion of the information in the affidavit is the product of undercover officers' direct dealings with Brodene. For more than two months Brodene consistently had dealt with undercover police officers in a reliable fashion. Information gained through independent police investigation also had corroborated some of Brodene's statements. Furthermore, the affidavit contained additional information gained through independent investigation as well as information that was a matter of public record.
Williams nevertheless argues that there was not probable cause to issue the search warrant, contending that information in the affidavit does not establish that on November 2, 1982, the items to be searched for would be found at 1427 Dean or in his 1980 Toyota. This argument is untenable. The affidavit recounted Williams' suspicious behavior from August 19 through November 2, 1982. Moreover, Brodene's statements contained in the affidavit specifically included those that on October 29, 1982, Bud had received methamphetamine and that on November 2, 1982, methamphetamine was available to the undercover officers "now," but that his source would sell it to someone else if the transaction was delayed any further.
The affidavit indicates that Brodene's source, Bud, had methamphetamine in his possession on November 2, 1982. Based on the affidavit, one could assume to a degree of near certainty that Brodene's source, Bud, and Williams are the same person. Thus, the affidavit indicated that Williams had methamphetamine in his possession on November 2, 1982.
The information in the affidavit provided the...
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