United States v. Key
| Decision Date | 30 December 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 13 CR 726,13 CR 726 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. DAJUAN KEY |
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
On October 8, 2013, a federal grand jury charged Defendant DaJuan Key with transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent that the minor engage in prostitution in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(a). Key moved to suppress the evidence acquired from warrantless searches of his motel room and rental car, claiming that the searches violated his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment. To support his position, Key filed a sworn affidavit stating that he never provided law enforcement consent to search his motel room or his rental car. As a result of the conflicting evidence, this Court held an evidentiary hearing on Key's motions on October 6, 2015. For the following reasons, Key's motion to suppress evidence recovered from his motel room [47] is granted in part. His motion to suppress evidence recovered from his rental car [48] is denied.
On the evening of September 10, 2013, Detective Sergeant Christine Masterson of the Romeoville Police Department was informed by her commander that a Wisconsin mother hadcalled the Department inquiring about the Romeoville Super 8 Motel. (Tr. 83). The woman's 15-year-old daughter had left Wisconsin with an unknown black male and had called from the motel asking to come home. (Id.) The mother asked the commander whether the motel was in a good or bad area and informed the commander that she was on her way to the motel from Wisconsin. (Tr. 82).
Masterson testified that she was also told by her commander that the girl was "crying and very upset" and "wanted to come home." (Tr. 83). Masterson and the other testifying officers agreed that the motel had a reputation for prostitution and drug problems. (Tr. 13; 42-43). Thinking the girl was in danger, Masterson called Officers Dustin Legner and Brian Truhlar and told them to report to the motel. (Tr. 84). Legner and Truhlar did not have a clear understanding at this point of what the mother had said, but they testified that they were treating this as an urgent situation and were considering possible kidnapping and prostitution. (Tr. 13; 42-43).
Legner and Truhlar arrived at the motel before Masterson and checked the parking lot for vehicles with Wisconsin license plates. (Tr. 13, 44). There was only one car in the lot with Wisconsin plates and, when they ran the plate, it came back as a rental vehicle. (Tr. 13-14, 44). The officers testified that rental vehicles are commonly used in prostitution and drug trafficking. (See Tr. 14). Legner and Truhlar then entered the motel lobby where they met Masterson. The clerk informed the officers that there was one motel guest from Wisconsin and she showed the officers a photocopy of his identification. (Tr. 14, 44-45, 84). The guest was Defendant DaJuan Key. (Tr. 14, 45).
At this point, Legner, Truhlar, and Masterson went to the room registered to Key. (Tr. 15, 45). Legner and Truhlar testified that when they arrived at the room, the upper latch on the door was pushed to the outside so that the door was held open about an inch. (Tr. 15, 45; see also Tr.85 ()). The officers then knocked on the door and Key came to the door. (Tr. 15-16; 45-46; 85). The officers identified themselves as police and were wearing vest carriers that said "Romeoville Police" on the front and "Police" on the back. (Tr. 15-16). The officers asked Key about the 15-year old white female from Wisconsin. (Tr. 16). Key told the officers that he did not know where the girl was and that he thought she had gone to the McDonald's across the street. (Tr. 17; 46). The officers asked Key if they could check the room and he advised that was "no problem, come on in." (Tr. 17; See also Tr. 46; 85; 99-100 (Masterson could not recall what Key said, but was certain that Key moved out of the way to let them in)). Throughout this early exchange, Legner and Truhlar described Key as pleasant, cooperative, and relaxed. (Tr. 18; 47-48). Crayton corroborated that Key was cooperative when the officer first entered the room. (Tr. 126). Key never asked the officers to leave and he never indicated that he did not want the officers in the room. (Tr. 18; 47).
Inside the room, the officers saw a tablet on the dresser to the left of the door open to the website www.backpage.com. (Tr. 18; 48). The officers all testified that they knew this website was commonly used to post prostitution advertisements. (Tr. 18-19; 48; see also Dkt. No. 49, Ex. D). The officers also noticed a large number of prepaid credit cards, as well as a number of used and unused condoms throughout the room. (Tr. 19; see also 48).
Inside the room was a black female, later identified as Dache Crayton, toward the rear corner of the room sitting on a bed. (Tr. 17; 47; 86). Once inside the room, Masterson began speaking with Crayton. (Tr. 85-86). During their conversation, Masterson asked for Crayton's identification, but Crayton could not find it. (Tr. 86-87). She suggested it might be in their car. (Tr. 20, 102).
According to Legner, he then asked Key for permission to search the rental car and Key gave verbal consent. (Tr. 20; see also Dkt. No. 49, Ex. B). Masterson did not recall this conversation and did not recall Key ever giving consent to search the car. (Tr. 105). Regardless, Legner (or someone else) then gave the car keys to Masterson. (Tr. 20; see also Tr. 86-87 ()). Masterson and Crayton left the room and went to the vehicle. (Tr. 20; 86-87).
After Crayton and Masterson left the room, Key began reaching in his pockets and waistband and generally becoming fidgety. (Tr. 21; 49). Because he had not been patted down, the officers were concerned for their safety and his and placed Key in handcuffs. (Tr. 21; 49). He was not, however, placed under arrest at this time. (Tr. 22).
Meanwhile, Masterson and Crayton were in the parking lot near the rental car. In the parking lot, Crayton told Masterson that she and the 15-year-old girl were prostituting and that Key was their pimp. (Tr. 87). Masterson gave Crayton the keys to the car and Crayton began dumping bags in the trunk of the car to look for her identification. (Id.) Masterson assumed the bags belonged to Crayton. (Id.) Masterson asked whether she could search the car and Crayton said yes. (Tr. 88). Masterson did not, however, search the car at that point. (Id.) Instead, Masterson took Crayton to McDonald's to find the girl. (Tr. 88-89). Masterson also radioed Officer Swiatek, who was en route to the motel, and advised him to meet them at McDonald's. (Tr. 88).
At the McDonald's, Swiatek entered the establishment and took the girl into protective custody. (Tr. 90). While he was in the McDonald's, Masterson continued speaking with Crayton to gather details about the underlying prostitution scheme. (Id.) She then called Legner and Truhlar and advised them to take Key into custody. (Id.)
Key immediately asked for an attorney and neither Legner nor Truhlar had any additional contact with him. (Tr. 22; 50). Prior to Key being transported to the station by Officer Augustine, Key was searched. (See Dkt. No. 49, Ex. B). After Key was transported, the officers searched the motel room and the rental vehicle. At some point during the course of searching Key and the motel room, the officers recovered prepaid Visa cards, a room key, cash, Key's Wisconsin state identification card, the tablet, condoms, a notebook, and at least two cellphones. Upon searching the rental vehicle, Masterson recovered approximately $20, a global positioning system, and some prepaid credit cards. (Tr. 91; Dkt. No. 49, Ex. C).
Key now moves to suppress the evidence recovered during the search of his motel room because the officers' entry into his room was unlawful and he did not consent to the search. Key similarly moves to suppress evidence recovered during the search of his rental car on the grounds that he did not consent to the search of the vehicle and Crayton did not have authority to provide consent.
Key first moves to suppress the following items seized from his motel room by the Romeoville Police Department: his cell phone, $323 in cash,2 prepaid credit cards, a notebook, a Samsung flip phone, and a Samsung tablet computer. (See Dkt. No. 47, 1; Dkt. No. 88, 6-7).Preliminarily, the Court finds that Key consented to the officers' entry into his motel room. See United States v. Cotnam, 88 F.3d 487, 495 (7th Cir. 1996) (). Id. (internal citations omitted). A person may, however, consent to the entry of their hotel room by officers and this consent need not be express or verbal. Id.
In this case, Key consented to the officers' entry into his motel room by both his words and actions. Legner and Truhlar testified that they asked Key if they could check the room and he advised that was "no problem, come on in." Masterson could not recall precisely what Key said, but she similarly stated that Key was very cooperative during their initial encounter at the door and—at the very least—moved out of the doorway to let the officers into the room. See United States v. Taylor, 549 F. App'x 562, 565 (7th Cir. 2013) (). There is no evidence that Key expressed any...
To continue reading
Request your trial