U.S. v. Yanez

• Decision Date: 31 May 2007
• Docket Number: Criminal Action No. H-06-441.
• Citation: 490 F.Supp.2d 765
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Gabriel YANEZ, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

490 F.Supp.2d 765

UNITED STATES of America v. Gabriel YANEZ, Defendant.

Criminal Action No. H-06-441.

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Houston Division.

May 31, 2007.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Jay Hileman, Assistant US Attorney, Financial Litigation, US Attorney's Office, US Marshal, US Pretrial SVCS, US Probation, Houston, TX, for United States of America.

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

MILLER, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Government has charged defendant Gabriel Yanez with the unlawful possession of a short-barreled firearm in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841, 5861(d), & 5871. Houston Police Department ("HPD") officers seized the sawed-off shotgun during a warrantless search of the defendant's home on October 24, 2006. Pending before the court is defendant's motion to suppress the shotgun obtained during the search and any statements obtained in violation of Miranda and its progeny or the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. After considering the arguments of counsel, the testimony of record, and the applicable law, the court finds that the defendant's motion should be DENIED in its entirety, except that the court defers a decision on the admissibility of the defendant's second confession until further probative evidence is heard at trial outside the presence of the jury.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On Tuesday, October 24, 2006, at approximately 5:50 p.m., HPD Lt. Stephen Casko and Officer Eric Blankenship were conducting an auto theft investigation in a southeast Houston neighborhood at the corner of Monroe and Almeda Genoa. Dkt. 30 at 7. At some point in the course of their investigation, they suddenly heard at least 30 gunshots coming from an area southwest of their location. Id. at 8. The officers left the area in unmarked cars, driving around the neighborhood and searching for the source of the gunfire. Id. As Blankenship proceeded to the scene, Casko was flagged down by a witness who was waving frantically and pointing to a nearby residence at 8403 Gullick Lane. Id. at 9. Casko asked the witness if that house was where the shots were coming from, and she confirmed that fact. Id. Casko then left his vehicle and ran to the residence where another witness, defendant's sister Lizet Yanez ("Lizet"), was standing in the doorway. Id. at 10. According to Lt. Casko, Ms. Yanez was absolutely terrified and "[s]he was shaking" out of fright. See id. He inquired about what was going on, and Lizet responded that "somebody was shooting upstairs." Id. Notably, Lizet did not identify the shooter or shooters who had threatened the community's safety However, Casko did ask her who else was in the house, and she stated her sister was also present. Id. He queried where the sister was, and Lizet stated that she was upstairs. Id. He went upstairs and retrieved the other sister, Crystal Yanez ("Crystal"), who was coming out of her room at the top of the staircase. Id. Crystal was also extremely frightened, and she too said that "somebody was shooting in the house" and indicated that the gunfire was emanating from a room down the hall. Id. at 11-12, 37. He took both girls outside to safety, and he was met by Officer Blankenship shortly thereafter. Id. at 11. At the time, Lizet was twelve years old, and Crystal was nineteen. Id.

Once the girls were safely outside, the officers entered the home again and ran up the stairs. Id. at 12. As they advanced down the hallway to the location from which witnesses said gunshots were coming, they noticed a closed door which suddenly opened. Id. One of the two suspects, a 15 year-old juvenile named Ramiro Emilio Sanchez, emerged from the doorway with the defendant close behind him. Id. Casko walked up to the doorway, ordered the suspects to raise their hands, and handcuffed both of them, obviously doing so without an arrest warrant. Id. at 13-14. At this point, Sanchez was in the doorway and defendant Yanez was standing inside the room next to the bed. Id. at 14-16. Yanez could have easily reached the bed from the position in which he was standing. Id.

Lt. Casko searched Sanchez's person, and Blankenship searched Yanez. Id. at 42. Casko then asked the arrestees "where is the gun?" Id. at 14. The defendant did not respond, but Sanchez stated that he didn't have it. Id. Casko noticed a loaded clip for a pistol lying on the bed, and he asked the suspects where the absent pistol was. Id. Sanchez nodded toward the bed and said, "It's under there." Id. at 15. Believing that Sanchez indicated that the gun was under the mattress, Casko lifted up the edge of the mattress and saw a sawed-off shotgun with a pistol grip lying on the box spring at the foot of the bed near Casko's leg, in close proximity to where Yanez was standing.¹ Id. That sawed-off shotgun, however, did not match the loaded clip, and Casko again asked Sanchez where the matching pistol was located. Id. at 19. Sanchez replied that it was wrapped in a blanket — when Casko unfurled the blanket, he found the clip's mate, a Beretta .40 caliber pistol. Id. At the time, Casko was standing adjacent to the mattress, and Yanez was to his immediate right. Id. at 16. Yanez was standing 4 to 5 feet away from the bed. Id. Lt. Casko testified that the shotgun at the foot of the bed was within the defendant's reach. Id. at 18.

After Casko secured the pistol and made sure that it was unloaded, the officers brought both of the suspects out of the house. Id. at 20. Both the shotgun and the pistol were left in the bedroom. The officers separated the suspects on both sides of Blankenship's van and waited for Officer Drey's patrol car to show up and transport the arrestees to the police station. Id. As they were waiting, Yanez repeatedly volunteered that the weapons were his alone, that he purchased them, and that Sanchez should not be blamed for owning any of the discovered weapons.² Id. at 21.

Then, less than five minutes after the officers exited the home, the marked patrol car arrived to pick up the two suspects. Id. at 22. The officers secured them in the back of the vehicle and entered the home a third time. Id. Lt. Casko testified that he believed there were still weapons in the upstairs bedroom which had not been secured, and he did not know whether there was anyone else remaining in the home. Id. at 53. Casko was concerned that other persons could have still been in the home, either accomplices of the suspects or persons who could have been injured during the gunfire. See id. at 53-54. Casko obtained the older sister's written consent to search the premises, and he seized the sawed-off shotgun from the upstairs bedroom. Id. at 24-25. Additionally, he recovered the Beretta .40 caliber pistol and a Colt AR-15 rifle that was in the closet. Id. at 25. Based on the shots they heard earlier, the officers reasonably assumed that the rifle was the weapon that had recently been fired by the suspects. Id. at 54.

After Casko and Blankenship searched the premises for several minutes, Casko returned to the patrol car to speak with the defendant. Id. at 22. He Mirandized the defendant,³ and the latter waived his rights. Id. at 22-23. Yanez repeated the same statements as before, specifically that the guns were all his and that he did not want Sanchez to be implicated for any crimes surrounding the gun ownership. Id. at 23. He explained numerous times that the guns were not stolen and that he legitimately owned the guns. Id. at 23-24. He also told Casko that he had cut the barrel off the shotgun himself, and that he had purchased the shotgun at a pawnshop. Id. at 24. Based on the defendant's inculpatory admissions, the officers released Sanchez and transported Yanez to the police station.

Six weeks later, on December 7, 2006, a federal grand jury indicted Yanez for the knowing possession and receipt of a shortbarreled firearm, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841, 5861(d), and 5871. See Dkt. 1. Defendant was arrested by federal authorities and appeared before Magistrate Judge Frances H. Stacy on December 13, 2006. Dkt. 14 at 1. The magistrate judge ordered the defendant released on a $30,000 unsecured bond. Id. As the case proceeded toward trial, defendant filed the instant motion to suppress, and the court held an oral hearing on April 30, 2007. See Dkt. 30. After the hearing, the defendant filed a supplemental memorandum of law in support of his motion to suppress. See Dkt. 31. The Government filed two additional responses, Dkts. 32 & 34, and the defendant replied to the Government's second response to the motion. Dkt. 33. The court has carefully considered the parties' extensive briefing on the entire panoply of constitutional issues, and the defendant's motion to suppress is ripe for decision.

III. ANALYSIS

The defendant alleges that the sawed-off shotgun and related testimonial statements were obtained in violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the United States Constitution, respectively. He also argues that even if the court finds that the officers complied with the dictates of Miranda in their interrogation, the testimonial statements about the firearm should be suppressed as fruit of the poisonous tree discovered after the unconstitutional search for the weapon. See Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 487-88, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963) (holding that secondary physical evidence obtained as the direct result of a Fourth Amendment violation must be suppressed); United States v. Moore, 329 F.3d 399, 404 (5th Cir.2003) ("Evidence obtained as a result of the exploitation of an illegal search or seizure should be suppressed."). Although each of these doctrines are interrelated, the court will analyze each of them separately for purposes of clarity, in the order listed above.

A. THE FOURTH AMENDMENT

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides in full:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,...