United States v. Buendia-Santos, Case No. 2:16-cr-00135-KKD-GMB
| Decision Date | 29 August 2016 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 2:16-cr-00135-KKD-GMB |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ANDRES BUENDIA-SANTOS |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama |
Pending before the court are the Motion to Suppress (Doc. 19) and Supplemental Motion to Suppress (Doc. 37) filed by Defendant Andres Buendia-Santos. The court held an evidentiary hearing on the motions to suppress on July 25, 2016, and has reviewed the Government's responses to the motions (Docs. 25 & 39), along with Buendia-Santos' filings and supporting evidentiary materials (Docs. 20, 21 & 36). For the reasons stated herein, the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS that the Motion to Suppress (Doc. 19) and Supplemental Motion to Suppress (Doc. 37) be DENIED.
A Grand Jury sitting within the Middle District of Alabama indicted Buendia-Santos on a single count for possession of a firearm while illegally residing in the United States. Doc. 1 at 1. Buendia-Santos claims in his motions to suppress that the Government obtained the critical piece of evidence supporting this charge—the firearm itself—by illegally procuring his consent to search his truck. Doc. 19 at 1.
On the afternoon of February 17, 2016, Officer Brandon Hicks of the Troy Police Department was on patrol when he parked his police cruiser on Trojan Way, a street in Troy, Alabama, to radar for speeding motorists. Transcript of July 25, 2016 Hearing ("Tr.") at 54-56. While there, Officer Hicks stopped Buendia-Santos for speeding. Tr. at 59. After Buendia-Santos pulled over, Officer Hicks walked to Buendia-Santos' truck and stood by the driver's side door, where he began, "How you doing, sir?" Government's Exhibit 1 to July 25, 2016 Hearing ("Gov. Ex. 1") at 15:40:01.1 Buendia-Santos responded but his response is inaudible on the video recording.2 Officer Hicks then asked, "Do what?" and "Huh?" Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:40:05. At the evidentiary hearing, Officer Hicks testified that he did not have any trouble understanding Buendia-Santos during this exchange; he only wanted Buendia-Santos to keep talking so that he could smell for alcohol on Buendia-Santos' breath since Officer Hicks could see a beer can on the passenger-side floorboard, could smell alcohol in the truck, and Buendia-Santos was speaking softly and facing away from him. Tr. at 59 & 66-67. Officer Hicks eventually determined that Buendia-Santos had been drinking; however, a field sobriety test indicated he was not impaired, and therefore he was not arrested for driving under the influence. Tr. at 9 & 64.
Officer Hicks understood from Buendia-Santos' accent and broken English that English was not his first language. Tr. at 69-70. Still, Officer Hicks was confident enough in his ability to converse with Buendia-Santos that he did not request a Spanish-language interpreter even though one was available. Tr. at 77. This was because, throughout their encounter, Buendia-Santos appeared to Officer Hicks to be capable ofconversing in English, to understand Officer Hicks' questions, and to give appropriate responses to the questions. Tr. at 59-61. By way of example, Officer Hicks asked, "You got your insurance on the vehicle?" Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:41:35. In response, Buendia-Santos immediately reached towards the passenger side of the vehicle, then presented a stack of paperwork to Officer Hicks. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:42:00. Officer Hicks later inquired, Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:47:40. Buendia-Santos quickly responded, providing a date in 1976. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:47:45. Officer Hicks then asked about a Mexican identification card that Buendia-Santos gave him earlier, inquiring "Where did you get that license?" Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:47:56. Buendia-Santos corrected him, Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:47:59. During the entire traffic stop, Buendia-Santos never told Officer Hicks that he did not understand a question asked of him. See generally Gov. Ex. 1.
While Buendia-Santos was still sitting in his truck, he and Officer Hicks talked at length regarding his alcohol intake and place of residence, including the following exchange:
After this exchange, Officer Hicks asked Buendia-Santos to step out of his vehicle. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:50:38. Buendia-Santos had his wallet in his hands as he stood up, and Officer Hicks instructed him to leave his wallet inside the vehicle. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:50:56. Officer Hicks repeated this direction four times and also pointed to the truck before Buendia-Santos complied. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:51:10. A few seconds later, Officer Hicks said, "Okay, turn around and interlock your hands behind your head please." Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:51:20. Buendia-Santos quickly turned around, but spread his fingers wide with his arms at his sides instead of crossing his fingers with his hands behind his head. Officer Hicks continued, "Interlock your fingers behind your head." Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:51:20. As he said this, Lieutenant Bryan Weed of the Troy Police Department, who had arrived on scene as back-up, gestured to show Buendia-Santos where to place his hands. At this point, Buendia-Santos interlocked his fingers as directed. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:51:21. OfficerHicks testified that it did not strike him as unusual that Buendia-Santos had to be told what to do multiple times. Tr. at 60. He explained that drivers are routinely "nervous and forget what they're doing or what they're supposed to do" during traffic stops. Tr. at 69.
A short time later, Officer Hicks again asked Buendia-Santos where he lived, but Buendia-Santos only described the landmarks near his home. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:53:26. Officer Hicks refused to accept this answer, continuing to ask Buendia-Santos repeatedly for an address. E.g., Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:53:48. Buendia-Santos eventually responded: "I say, 'Don't remember' every time . . . it's in my papers." Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:53:52. A short time later, as Officer Hicks and Buendia-Santos talked at the rear of the truck, Lieutenant Weed approached Buendia-Santos from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:54:54. Lieutenant Weed then began, "Mind if I look in your . . . ." Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:54:56. At this time, Buendia-Santos was turned to his left, facing away from Lieutenant Weed and toward Officer Hicks, who said, "Can he go look in your vehicle?" Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:54:57; Tr. at 63 (). Officer Hicks testified that he repeated the question for clarification. Tr. at 63. Officer Hicks and Lieutenant Weed did not pull their weapons or threaten Buendia-Santos at this time or any other time during the traffic stop. See Gov. Ex. 1; Tr. at 13.
After Officer Hicks asked Buendia-Santos if Lieutenant Weed could look in his vehicle, Buendia-Santos turned to his right to face Lieutenant Weed, who still had a hand on his shoulder. Buendia-Santos was looking directly at Lieutenant Weed as Lieutenant Weed asked, "You mind if I look, look in your truck to see if there's any paperwork oranything?" Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:54:58. Buendia-Santos immediately responded, "Yeah, maybe right . . . ." Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:55:00.3 While verbally responding, Buendia-Santos also nodded his head, pointed at the passenger side of the truck, and took a step toward it. Officer Hicks then cut Buendia-Santos off, instructing him, "Step back here with me." Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:55:03. Buendia-Santos quickly complied, assuming a position near the tailgate to watch the search. Once there, Buendia-Santos pointed to the truck and offered, "Inside the, uh, little box," as he demonstrated to Officer Hicks by placing his hands approximately shoulder-width apart and parallel. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:55:11.
Although he stood near the tailgate with Officer Hicks throughout the search, Buendia-Santos did not object to the search at any time. After looking in the glove box for papers indicating Buendia-Santos' address, Lieutenant Weed looked on the passenger seat, and then behind the passenger seat. Tr. at 15-16. He described the vehicle as being "in disarray," with assorted paperwork and other personal effects inside. Tr. at 16. To look behind the seat, Lieutenant Weed folded the passenger seat forward. As he did so, he immediately observed a firearm in a holster sitting on the floorboard. Tr. at 45. When confronted with this discovery, Buendia-Santos explained that he had the gun because he works on a farm. Gov. Ex. 1 at 15:56:12.
The court held an evidentiary hearing on Buendia-Santos' motions to suppress, during which it received testimony from five individuals in addition to the two officersinvolved in the traffic stop. Dr. Adriana Flores, a forensic and clinical psychologist, testified regarding her interview and evaluation of Buendia-Santos. Tr. at 78. Dr. Flores is fluent in English and Spanish and evaluated Buendia-Santos for an assessment of his English vocabulary and language skills. Tr. at 81; Defendant's Exhibit A to Hearing of July 25, 2016 at 1 ( filed under seal). Dr. Flores testified that Buendia-Santos was born and raised in Mexico in a Spanish-speaking home but emigrated to the United States eight and a half years ago. Tr. at 85. He obtained approximately an eighth-grade education in Mexico and is of low-average intelligence with no significant impairments. Tr. at 104. Buendia-Santos told Dr. Flores that he had been able to survive in the United States despite...
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