U.S. v. Williams

• Decision Date: 03 December 2008
• Docket Number: No. 08-4014.,08-4014.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Darnell WILLIAMS, a/k/a Nellie; Larry Thomas, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

548 F.3d 311

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Darnell WILLIAMS, a/k/a Nellie; Larry Thomas, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 08-4014.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued: October 30, 2008.

Decided: December 3, 2008.

ARGUED: Philip S. Jackson, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. Kenneth Wendell Ravenell, Baltimore, Maryland; Joseph John Gigliotti, Sr., Silver Spring, Maryland, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Rod J. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. William J. Morrow, The Murphy Firm, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee Darnell Williams.

Before WILLIAMS, Chief Judge, and NIEMEYER and KING, Circuit Judges.

Reversed and remanded by published opinion. Judge KING wrote the opinion, in which Chief Judge WILLIAMS and Judge NIEMEYER joined.

OPINION

KING, Circuit Judge:

The government challenges, by way of this interlocutory appeal, the district court's Order suppressing evidence seized pursuant to search warrants from the residences of drug conspiracy defendants Darnell Williams and Larry Thomas. See United States v. McCoy, No. 1:06-cr-00449 (D.Md. Oct. 24, 2007). In so ruling, the district court recognized that the government had conceded there was no probable cause to support the search warrants, and it rejected the government's position that the seized evidence was nevertheless admissible under the good faith exception to the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule, as articulated in United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984). On appeal, the government— though acknowledging that it previously conceded lack of probable cause—urges us to reverse the suppression ruling on the ground that the warrants were supported by probable cause. Alternatively, the government maintains that the district court erred in refusing to apply the Leon good faith exception. As explained below, we need only reach the Leon issue, on which we reverse and remand.

I.

A.

On August 31, 2006, Special Agent Paul Neikirk of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office, applied to a Maryland state court for a "Search and Seizure Warrant" relating to the "Premise" 3516 Sandpiper Court, Edgewood, Maryland (the "Sandpiper Court warrant"). See J.A. 3.¹ The warrant application also refers to the "Person" Darnell Williams. Id. In support of the application, Neikirk outlined his expertise, including involvement in at least thirty drug trafficking investigations, the arrests of more than 500 drug suspects, the making of at least ten affidavits in support of search warrants, and the execution of more than 100 such warrants. See id. at 5. He also submitted a twenty-page affidavit (the "Sandpiper Court affidavit"), plus a single-page exhibit listing property to be seized. On the first page of the Sandpiper Court affidavit, Neikirk again refers to the "Person" Darnell Williams and the "Premise" 3516 Sandpiper Court, and he avers that "[y]our Affiant believes that probable cause exists for the issuance of said warrant for these premise(s) ... which are being used for the illegal use, storage, sale, packaging and concealment of controlled dangerous substance[s]." Id. at 7. Later in the Sandpiper Court affidavit, Neikirk lists 3516 Sandpiper Court as Williams's address, see id. at 9-10, and specifically asserts that "[t]his location is believed to be the primary residence of Darnell Williams," id. at 25. The Sandpiper Court affidavit also includes such identifying information as Williams's date of birth and Social Security number. See, e.g., id. at 9.

The bulk of the Sandpiper Court affidavit details the investigation into Williams and his alleged coconspirators (including Thomas), which investigation involved, inter alia, a confidential informant, controlled purchases, intercepted phone calls, and physical surveillance. The Sandpiper Court affidavit reflects, for example, the following:

• After identifying Thomas "as a mid-level narcotic dealer," the confidential informant made controlled purchases of "multiple ounces of cocaine from Thomas on numerous occasions from January 2006-May 2006," J.A. 7;

• The subsequent court-approved interception of calls made on a phone utilized by Thomas led Special Agent Neikirk to secure court authorization to intercept calls made on eight other phones, including two cell phones used by Williams, see id. at 7-11;

• Between July 9, 2006, and August 25, 2006, investigators intercepted fifteen calls involving Williams that Neikirk believed, based on his training and experience, to be "drug pertinent," see id. at 14-25; and

• In August 2006, investigators conducted physical surveillance of Williams meeting with suspected drug suppliers in Houston, Texas, after learning that Williams had made arrangements to fly there, see id. at 23.

According to the Sandpiper Court affidavit, the investigation "established that Darnell Williams is managing an ongoing drug distribution network that operates throughout the United States of America[,][i]ncluding[ ] Maryland, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas, with at least one ultimate street level distribution point being in the Baltimore, Maryland Metropolitan area." Id. at 12. The Sandpiper Court affidavit also reflects that Williams pleaded guilty in February 1994 in a Maryland state court to possession with intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances, as well as controlled dangerous substance distribution with a firearm, and that there had been numerous other state criminal charges brought against him between 1993 and 2000. See id. at 13-14.

The Sandpiper Court affidavit does not specify any particular evidence—such as evidence gathered from intercepted phone calls or physical surveillance—linking the Sandpiper Court dwelling to drug trafficking activity. Special Agent Neikirk asserts therein, however, that

[y]our Affiant knows based on his training and experience that drug dealers tend to maintain quantities of narcotics, firearms and proceeds from drug sales and records of drug transactions in their houses ... for safekeeping. Your Affiant knows based on his training and experience that drug dealers often utilize safes and other locked containers in their residence to secure quantities of drugs, firearms and proceeds from drug sales.... Your Affiant has also learned that narcotic dealers tend to "stash" quantities of narcotics, monies, and handguns in their houses.

J.A. 12. This training-and experience-based knowledge, together with the evidence of drug trafficking gathered against Williams, gave rise to Neikirk's "belie[f] that probable cause exists that Darnell Williams is storing controlled dangerous substances, firearms, proceeds from drug transactions and business records thereof at 3516 Sandpiper C[ourt]." Id. at 13; see also id. at 25 ("[A]s a result of your Affiant[']s involvement in this investigation, and his expertise and experience in the investigation of dangerous drugs, your Affiant believes that there is presently concealed within the aforesaid dwelling ... items constitut[ing] evidence that relates to the illegal distribution and possession with the intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances....").

At the close of the Sandpiper Court affidavit, Special Agent Neikirk seeks authorization for a "no knock entry," explaining that "[t]his location is believed to be the primary residence of Darnell Williams," that "it is possible that he could be home at the time the warrant is executed," and that Williams has a history of violence (including prior arrests for assault with intent to murder and various firearms offenses) indicating a risk to the executing officers. J.A. 25-26. Finally, Neikirk reiterates that, "[a]s a result of the above listed [intercepted phone] calls and probable cause corroborated from the confidential source, your Affiant believes that sufficient probable cause exists that the narcotics laws of Maryland are being violated with the dwelling of 3516 Sandpiper Court." Id. at 26.

At the same time he sought the Sandpiper Court warrant (on August 31, 2006), Special Agent Neikirk also applied to the Maryland state court for a "Search and Seizure Warrant" relating to the "Premise" 135 Baltimore Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland (the "Baltimore Avenue warrant"). See J.A. 30. That warrant application refers to the "Person" Larry Thomas. Id. In support of the application, Neikirk again outlined his expertise, and he submitted a seventeen-page affidavit (the "Baltimore Avenue affidavit"), plus a single-page exhibit listing property to be seized. The first page of the Baltimore Avenue affidavit refers to the "Person" Larry Thomas and the "Premise" 135 Baltimore Avenue, and contains an assertion of probable cause identical to that found in the Sandpiper Court affidavit. Id. at 34 ("Your Affiant believes that probable cause exists for the issuance of said warrant for these premise(s) ... which are being used for the illegal use, storage, sale, packaging and concealment of controlled dangerous substance[s]....") Also on the first page of the Baltimore Avenue affidavit, Neikirk lists 135 Baltimore Avenue as Thomas's address, see id., and later therein Neikirk specifically asserts that "[t]his location is believed to be the primary residence of Larry Thomas," id. at 50.² The Baltimore Avenue affidavit also includes such identifying information as Thomas's date of birth and Social Security number. See, e.g., id. at 34.

The majority of the Baltimore Avenue affidavit details the investigation into Thomas, Williams, and their alleged coconspirators. Specific to Thomas, the Baltimore Avenue affidavit (like the Sandpiper Court affidavit) reflects that he was identified as a mid-level drug dealer by the confidential informant, that the informant made controlled purchases of cocaine from Thomas between January and May 2006, and that Neikirk thereafter secured authorization to intercept calls made on a phone utilized...