United States v. Beall, Crim. No. Y-83-00395.
| Decision Date | 06 March 1984 |
| Docket Number | Crim. No. Y-83-00395. |
| Citation | 581 F. Supp. 1457 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America v. Joseph V. BEALL. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
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Steven Allen, Asst. United States Atty., Baltimore, Maryland for plaintiffs.
Eugene P. Hines, Washington, D.C., for defendant.
Defendant filed numerous motions in this criminal action which were followed by two evidentiary hearings. This Opinion resolves the outstanding motion to suppress and motion to dismiss for destruction of evidence.
Defendant filed a motion to suppress certain evidence seized from a truck he was driving as well as evidence obtained from a search of a U-Haul truck located in Dick's Auto Body Shop ("Dick's") in Elkridge, Maryland. On November 25, 1981, the Maryland State Police received a call from Ester Simms advising them that a truck was parked in the rear of her mother's residence located at 1513 Mathews Road, Severn, Anne Arundel County, Maryland and that a burglary was possibly in progress. Trooper First Class Ronald Price of the State Police went to the mother's residence to investigate. Upon his arrival relatives told him that the mother was in the hospital, that the truck did not belong there, and that several people had been around the truck. The truck was a white 1978 Ford step truck bearing Virginia tags, number XJA 916. After further investigation, Price learned that the tags had been issued to a 1981 GMC product. From police communications, he also learned that the last registered owner of the 1978 Ford, Jerry Fitzgerald, had allegedly indicated that the truck was no longer his. Unbeknownst to Price, Fitzgerald had not in fact been contacted. Testimony at the hearings indicated that a relative had given the defendant permission to park the truck at the Mathews Road residence. However, Price was also not aware of this.
Price had the truck towed to McBee's Tow Service ("McBee's") for safekeeping. McBee's had a contract with the Maryland State Police for the storage of impounded vehicles. According to McBee's owner at that time, the lot was fenced. Vehicles had to enter or exit through one of two gates which were padlocked during the hours the business was closed. On November 27, 1981, the Maryland State Police received a report that a theft had taken place at McBee's. Testimony from the owner and his brother indicated that the theft occurred between 9:15 and 9:40 p.m. One of the compound's gates had been removed from its hinges with the lock intact and then put back into place. A new lock for which the owners did not have a key had been placed on the other gate. During the theft, the white truck was stolen. Price testified that the State Police had never authorized the release of that truck from McBee's.
On that same night, Howard County Police Sergeant J.D. Richards, an experienced law enforcement officer with specialized training in drug enforcement, was on routine patrol in the Elkridge area of Howard County in an unmarked police cruiser. Accompanying him was Daniel King, Richards' wife's cousin and a participant in the "Ride-along" Program sponsored by Howard County Police. At about 9:45 p.m. Richards pulled up at a stop sign at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Main Street. Three males, two blacks and one white, approached the cruiser. One of them, Herbie Hall, came up to the driver's side and told Richards that he should get over to Dick's because people were "ripping-off" the body shop and placing things into a U-Haul truck. Richards knew Hall by name, but not by face, because Hall had been suspected of crimes in Elkridge. Hall handed Richards a piece of paper on which he had written a tag number, XJA 916 Virginia. Richards then looked into the lot, saw a white Ford truck and asked Hall if that was the truck. Hall indicated that it was. Richards asked Hall if the gate to Dick's was locked. Hall replied that it was not. From his position, Richards could only tell that the gate was closed, however, he did not see signs of forcible entry. Richards asked Hall why he was providing him with this information. Hall replied that he did not want Richards to think that he was responsible for the theft and that he wanted Richards to be his alibi to prove that he was not involved.1 After Hall left, Richards saw a middle-aged white male walking at a rapid pace from the direction of Dick's. Richards then turned off his lights and observed 2-3 people moving around the white truck inside the compound. Richards moved his cruiser to a position along the fence line of Dick's compound. He called police communications and requested that contact be made with the owner of Dick's to determine if anyone had permission to be on the property. While waiting for an answer to his inquiry, he was advised that a breaking and entering had occurred at Dick's the night before. Richards interpreted this as indicating that the location was susceptible to burglary and then moved the cruiser so that it was facing in the opposite direction in order to be able to move more easily when the truck left.
From his new position Richards could see the office area of Dick's where the lights were on and where he observed a white male with a beard walk past the office window towards the office door. Richards then heard a "metallic noise" coming from the gate area of the chain link fence surrounding Dick's. Next he saw the headlights of the truck come on and observed another white male wearing a stocking hat walking rapidly on the street. He appeared to have come from the area of the compound. The truck then left the compound.
Richards began to follow the truck. Although he testified that he was hoping to observe a traffic violation because he knew it was an excellent reason for stopping the truck, he also stated that he had not wanted to make a stop at Dick's since he was not sure how many people were involved in any criminal activity which might be taking place there. Once behind the truck, he observed that it displayed the same license tag number that Hall had given him. He followed the truck for a short distance and at an intersection in Howard County he observed the truck roll through a stop sign and continue without stopping. At that time, he informed police communications that he was going to make a stop and requested a back-up. The truck was stopped just inside Baltimore County, the first place where the shoulder was sufficiently wide to allow a safe stop. Richards testified that had the truck stayed in Howard County, he would have continued to follow it. Roughly, six minutes elapsed from the time Hall approached Richards, and the stop.
As soon as the truck was stopped, the driver got out and walked back to the front of the police cruiser. Based upon his training and experience, Richards felt this was significant since drivers typically took such action only when they did not want the officer to see the interior of the vehicle. Richards then asked the driver for his license and registration card. The driver handed him a license in the name of Joseph Beall, but did not produce a registration card. Richards repeated his request and Beall walked back to the truck entering on the driver's side. Richards followed the driver to the truck. Beall asked to borrow Richards' flashlight and Richards stood behind him as he retrieved the registration. Richards detected the odor of marijuana coming from the cab, describing the odor as "significant" but not "overpowering."2
Beall showed Richards a Virginia registration card which indicated that the truck's license plates were for a 1981 GMC truck. When Beall returned the flashlight, Richards took it and shined it in the vehicle through the open door. He observed loose green vegetable material on the floor of the truck directly behind the driver's seat and on the "sliding track" separating the cab from the rear of the truck. The vegetable material appeared to Richards to be marijuana. At no time did Beall ask why he was stopped nor did Richards tell him why. Richards knew of no requirement that a person be told why he was stopped and testified that he chose not to give Beall a traffic citation since a marijuana charge is more serious.
Howard County Police Officer Daniel Snow arrived at this time. As he approached the truck's cab, Richards directed his attention to the green vegetable material behind the driver's seat and in the sliding track. Snow testified that he could smell the odor of marijuana.3 When Richards asked Beall what he had been doing at the body shop, Beall stated that he was a friend of the owner and that he had keys to Dick's. Beall stated the truck was empty. Richards asked Beall if he would allow Richards to look in the back of the truck. Beall replied that he would allow him and then walked to the rear of the truck and gave the door handle a tug. He stated that he could not open the door since it was locked and he did not have the key.
Richards then walked back to the open driver's seat. He removed some green vegetable material which upon closer examination, confirmed his earlier belief that it was marijuana. Richards then formally arrested Beall. Officer Snow transported Beall to the police station where he removed all of Beall's personal effects and put them in an envelope in accordance with police procedure.
Meanwhile, Richards called for a tow vehicle to take the truck to police headquarters and impound it. He also showed the green vegetable matter to Daniel King and obtained a search warrant for the white truck. The padlock securing the rear door of the truck was unlocked and approximately 3,600 pounds of marijuana was discovered.
Richards later obtained a search warrant for the search of Dick's Body Shop. The documents submitted to the judge included a signed application for the warrant and an affidavit in support thereof which Richards neglected to sign. However, prior to the signing of the affidavit by the...
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