United States v. Drahota, No. CR02-4090-DEO (N.D. Iowa 2003)
| Decision Date | 01 March 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. CR02-4090-DEO.,CR02-4090-DEO. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JAY DEL DRAHOTA, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
The defendant Jay Del Drahota ("Drahota") was indicted by the grand jury on September 25, 2002, on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. (Doc. No. 1) This matter is before the court on six pretrial motions filed by Drahota on November 25, 2002. After receiving an extension of time from the court, on January 3, 2003, the plaintiff (the "Government") filed a combined resistance to all of Drahota's motions (Doc. No. 38), and a separate brief in support of its resistance to each motion. Drahota's motions, and the Government's briefs in resistance, are docketed as follows:
1. Motion to suppress custodial interrogations of December 10, 1999, and January 11, 2000 (Doc. No. 21), with supporting brief (Doc. No. 22), and the Government's brief in resistance (Doc. No. 44).
2. Motion to dismiss the Indictment or, in the alternative, to suppress evidence (Doc. No. 23), with supporting brief (Doc. No. 24), and the Government's brief in resistance (Doc. No. 41).
3. Motion to suppress March 20, 2000, statement (Doc. No. 25), with supporting brief (Doc. No. 26), and the Government's brief in resistance (Doc. No. 42).
4. Motion for Kastigar1 hearing (Doc. No. 27), with supporting brief (Doc. No. 28), and the Government's brief in resistance (Doc. No. 40).
5. Motion to dismiss the Indictment based on prejudicial pre-Indictment delay (Doc. No. 29), with supporting brief (Doc. No. 30), and the Government's brief in resistance (Doc. No. 39).
6. Motion to suppress evidence obtained through illegal search and seizure on December 10, 1999, and January 11, 2000 (Doc. No. 31), with supporting brief (Doc. No. 32), and the Government's brief in resistance (Doc. No. 43).
In the Trial Scheduling and Management Order entered in this case on October 28, 2002 (Doc. No. 13), pretrial motions in this case were assigned to the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), for the filing of a report and recommended disposition. The court held a hearing on the motions beginning on February 5, 2003, and concluding on March 4, 2003. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher appeared on behalf of the Government. Drahota appeared in person with his attorneys, Charles L. Hawkins and Robert L. Sikma.2
At the hearing, the Government offered the testimony of the following witnesses: Jack Bjornstad, former Assistant County Attorney for Dickinson County; Lakefield, Minnesota, Police Officer Jared Praska; Spirit Lake, Iowa, Police Chief John Mark Martyr; Spirit Lake, Iowa, Police Officer Rodney Bakker; Dickinson County Sheriff's Deputy Don Gude; Spirit Lake, Iowa, Police Officer Jeff Hanson; and Dickinson County Sheriff's Deputy Rex Ondler. The following exhibits were admitted into evidence: Gov't Ex. 1 (2 pages), a letter dated February 19, 2001, from Jack B. Bjornstad to Rex Ondler, with attached handwritten letter from Drahota to Mr. Bjornstad; Gov't Ex. 2, Lakefield Police Department Property and Inventory Report dated 12-11-99, signed by Drahota; Gov't Ex. 3, photocopy of two photographs of a two-way radio; Gov't Ex. 4, copy of an investigative report written by Deputy Ondler, ADMITTED UNDER SEAL for the limited purpose of placing certain matters into context; Gov't Ex. 5, certified copy of Waiver of Rights and Guilty Plea in State of Iowa v. Drahota, Crim. No. SRCRO 12597, Dickinson County District Court, signed by Drahota pro se; and Defense Ex. A (10 pages), copies of certain documents from the Dickinson County District Court file. Subsequent to the hearing, the Government provided a certified copy of the complete Dickinson County District Court file (36 pages), which the court hereby admits into evidence as Gov't Ex. 6. (The court has added handwritten page numbers to the exhibit for ease of reference.)
The court finds the motions have been fully submitted and are ready for consideration.
The events leading up to Drahota's arrest on the current charges began in early December 1999, with the arrest of another individual, Colin Hill, by Lakefield, Minnesota, Police Officer Jared Praska, as part of a methamphetamine investigation. Hill recently had been released from prison, and was arrested after fleeing from Officer Praska in a pickup truck. At the time of his arrest, Hill was in possession of a speed loader, with six rounds of .44 caliber ammunition, and drug paraphernalia. Hill identified Drahota as one of his sources, and agreed to cooperate with law enforcement by making a controlled purchase of an "eightball" of methamphetamine from Drahota.
On the evening of Friday, December 10, 1999, Officer Praska and Officer Trevor Anderson were waiting to meet with Hill at the Lakefield, Minnesota, police station, on Main Street in downtown Lakefield, to set up the controlled buy.3 While they were waiting, they observed Drahota watching the police station. As they watched, Drahota walked by the police station several times from different locations, and repeatedly drove past the police station in a vehicle with two other individuals.4 The officers were concerned about the situation because they believed Hill was coming to the police station to cooperate against Drahota. They also were anxious because they believed Drahota might be acting in concert with Hill, and because of Hill's suspected involvement with firearms.
Lakefield is a town of about 1700 people. Its police force consisted of the Chief of Police, two full-time officers (Praska and Anderson), and a part-time officer. The Chief of Police was ill that evening, and the part-time officer apparently was unavailable, so Officers Praska and Anderson had no back-up. Because of their concerns, they put on Kevlar vests, and began to patrol the town together in a patrol car. They saw Drahota and his companions park their vehicle and walk away from it. Later, one of the individuals returned to the vehicle and drove it away. The officers stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation, but then released the driver. Later that evening, they saw the vehicle parked at Drahota's house.
As the officers patrolled Lakefield, they observed Drahota again walking toward the police station. Officer Praska told Drahota to stop watching the police station. Drahota started to walk away. While the officers turned their attention to a dog that had run into the street, Drahota turned around and walked back to the patrol car. Drahota then told the officers, The officers took these remarks as a terroristic threat in violation of Minnesota law, so they handcuffed Drahota and searched him. In his pocket, they found a two-way radio that seemed to be rigged to have an "open" microphone. Officer Praska then walked Drahota to the police station, where he removed the handcuffs and allowed Drahota to attend to a runny nose.
Officer Praska asked Drahota why he was following the police and why he had made the threatening remark. Drahota responded that he was working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension ("BCA"), and his house was being watched either by the BCA or federal officers. Officer Praska tried unsuccessfully to confirm this information. Drahota then began making general statements about drugs and Colin Hill. According to Officer Praska, Drahota made these statements voluntarily and not in response to any questions. At the time Drahota made these statements, he was not handcuffed and, according to Officer Praska, was free to leave. Eventually, Officer Praska actually told Drahota to leave, but Drahota remained and continued to make voluntary statements. Drahota's statements included comments that Hill was trying to buy drugs from Drahota, but Drahota did not have access to the quantities of drugs Hill wanted. Eventually, after about half an hour, Drahota left. The next day, the officers photographed the two-way radio and returned it to Drahota. (See Gov't Ex. 3)
About a month later, on January 11, 2000, officers of the Spirit Lake, Iowa, police department were conducting surveillance of Hill's residence in rural Dickinson County, Iowa. The officers had learned Hill had purchased precursors used in methamphetamine manufacturing at a local business, and they had other information indicating Hill was involved in manufacturing methamphetamine. They also believed he might be in possession of a .44 caliber handgun.
Spirit Lake Police Chief John Martyr was watching the Hill residence when he observed several people going between buildings on the property. He also observed three vehicles parked at the residence, and he saw someone back one of the vehicles, a white pickup truck, up next to one of the buildings. Martyr was concerned because law enforcement had information that Hill possibly was going to dismantle a methamphetamine lab and destroy evidence.
Officer Martyr then observed several people get into the three vehicles and drive away. The first vehicle to leave was a gray Pontiac LeMans, the second was the pickup truck, and the third vehicle was a gray Buick Park Avenue. Officer Martyr contacted other officers to pursue the vehicles and determine whether there was probable cause to stop them. The first officer to reach the three vehicles was Spirit Lake Police Officer Rodney Bakker. Officer Bakker reported the vehicles' speeds were picking up and he requested the assistance of other officers. Officer Bakker passed the pickup truck and the Buick, and pursued the Pontiac, which was the lead vehicle. As he passed the pickup truck and the Buick, he called in their license plate numbers. He then paced the Pontiac as traveling between 60 and 70 miles per hour in a 50-mile-per-hour zone. After a brief...
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