United States v. Laughlin
| Decision Date | 06 July 2012 |
| Docket Number | CRIMINAL ACTION FILE NO. 1:10-CR-113-TWT/AJB |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. PHILLIP LAUGHLIN (#1) and SARAH TOWNSEND (#4), Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia |
Before the Court are the following motions: (1) motion to suppress evidence by Sarah Townsend, [Doc. 171]; (2) motion for return of property (vehicle) by Sarah Townsend, [Doc. 172]; (3) joint amended motion to suppress statements and searches by Sarah Townsend and Phillip Laughlin, [Doc. 178]; (4) motion to suppress evidence improperly allowed to deteriorate by Sarah Townsend and Phillip Laughlin, [Docs. 217, 226]; and (5) motion to allow Sandy Springs Police Department to destroy bulk marijuana by the United States, [Doc. 188]. After evidentiary hearings, the parties filed briefs. With briefing concluded, the matters are ripe for disposition. The undersigned RECOMMENDS that the various motions to suppress/return be DENIED. Further, the undersigned RECOMMENDS that Defendants' objections to destruction of bulkmarijuana evidence be OVERRULED, and that the destruction of bulk evidence be ALLOWED.
Defendant Phillip Laughlin and Sarah Townsend are charged with three others with conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute more than 1000 marijuana plants (Count One), manufacturing and possessing with intent to distribute more than 1000 marijuana plants (Count Two), and possessing firearms in furtherance of the drug trafficking crimes alleged in Counts One and Two (Count Three). [Doc. 1].1 In a pretrial motion to suppress, [Doc. 178], Laughlin and Townsend contended that search warrants issued for and executed at 8130 Habersham Waters Road and 64 Long Island Place were fruits of unlawful warrantless traffic stops and subsequent custodial statements. [Id. at 4]. They also contended that the scope of the warrant for 8130 Habersham Waters Road was exceeded by the authorization. [Id. at 4-5]. They further contended that the landlord at 64 Long Island Place was an agent of law enforcement and thus engaged in a warrantless search uponwhich the search warrant for that location was unconstitutionally based. [Id. 5]. They also contended that the search warrant for 1214 Webster Street, top floor, in Oakland California, was invalid. As a result, the Court held evidentiary hearings, [Docs. 200 (hereinafter "T1"); 201 (hereinafter "T2"); and 210 (hereinafter "T3")]. The evidentiary hearings also dealt with the government's request to destroy bulk evidence and Defendants' motion to suppress evidence due to the government's alleged failure to properly maintain the evidence.
Personnel of the Sandy Springs, Georgia, Police Department (SSPD) suspected that marijuana was being trafficked out of 8130 Habersham Waters Road in Sandy Springs, Georgia (hereinafter "8130"), as a result of an anonymous tip and police confirmation of marijuana odor emanating from that location. T1:138, 147. SSPD Detective Andrew Spears was directed by his supervisor to call a neighbor who had reported strange activity in the neighborhood. T2:183. The neighbors lived directly across the street from 8130 and reported a strange smell and comings andgoings in the middle of the night and provided information on who they believed was living at that address. T2:184.
Using computer databases, Spears learned that Terry Laughlin was the listed homeowner of 8130, that her husband was Lynn Laughlin, and that they had a son named Phillip Laughlin. T2:185. He also learned that "Sarah Townsend also was connected with this group." T2:185. Spears got the tag numbers of vehicles associated with 8130 from the original complainant, and he concluded that a tan Nissan, registered to Georgia McChan, also was associated with this residence. He learned that Georgia McChan had a daughter named Jennifer McChan, and that the daughter was connected to Mark Brotemarkle. T2:185.
In addition to the gold/tan Nissan with a Missouri license plate, law enforcement also associated a black BMW with 8130 after having been given the tag number by the neighbor and seeing it at the location. T1:139; T2:186. Spears was told that the residents were the son of the owner (Terri Laughlin), his (presumably the son's) girlfriend or wife (Sarah), and their child, and that several other white males were seen in and around the residence. Gov't Exh. 1 () at 2. The complainant also reported bright lights coming from the basement area at night. Spears confirmed that Terri Laughlin owned the house and that her son was Phillip, who hada prior history of VGCSA (violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act), manufacturing marijuana, and possession of marijuana. Id. Department of Labor records showed no reported income for Phillip Laughlin in two years. Id. Spears discovered that Sarah Townsend also was connected to the address and that she had no reported income for 2009 and only $200 for 2008. The power bill was registered to her, and based on Spears's investigations with previous electric bills, the power consumption at the address "appeared to be extremely high." Id. at 2; T2:186.
On January 5, 2010, while conducting surveillance at the location, Spears and SSPD Detective Thomas spoke with one of the neighbors. T2:187-88. Spears and Thomas walked down the rode towards 8130 and at the end of the driveway both smelled a strong odor of fresh (unburnt) marijuana, which was particularly striking in light of the very cold temperatures. T2:188; T2:232.2 They were 120 to 150 feet away from the home. T2:216. The smell dissipated as soon as they moved away from the property. T2:233. The smell was not present in or near the neighbors' houses. Gov't Exh. 1 at 2. The next day, Spears and his supervisor met with the residents immediately next door to 8130, who corroborated what the other neighborswere reporting about the smells and the comings and goings. T2:189. These neighbors allowed the police to walk onto their property, which gave the police a view of the back yard at 8130. In so doing, Spears saw the BMW, and noted that its license plate was on crooked. T2:188. He also saw a pile of some indeterminate material covered by a tarp in the driveway, and next to it a jug. T2:188. However, they did not detect any marijuana smell emanating from 8130 from their vantage point. T2:235.
They also spoke to the neighbors on the other side of 8130, who corroborated what the other neighbors stated and in addition stated that every once in a while at night she would see bright lights coming from the basement area in the rear. T2:189; see also Gov't Exh. 2 () at 2. The officers did not smell any marijuana coming from 8130 while they were at this house. T2:235.
On the evening of January 8, 2010, eight SSPD officers engaged in surveillance of 8130. T2:190. One of the neighbors gave the police permission to set up on their property. T2:191. From that property they observed two children and at least one adult inside 8130. T2:192. Police observed people coming and going from inside the house to the black BMW and tan Nissan, and then both vehicles left the residence. T2:193-94.
David Huffschmidt, then an SSPD patrol officer, was one of the officers dispatched to the area of 8130. T1:65. He was in uniform and drove a marked police car. T1:65. His assignment was to wait at the corner of Spalding Drive and Old Dominion Road approximately one mile from 8130 until one of the two vehicles left that location. T1:65-66. Detectives who were surveilling the house told him the BMW had left the address heading west on Spalding Drive. Because Huffschmidt was east of the address, he caught up with the vehicle at Spalding Drive near Roberts Drive. T1:66-67. Huffschmidt was able to read the tag, but saw that the BMW's tag was secured by only one screw and it was dangling from that one screw. T1:67, 84. Huffschmidt waited until there was a safe place to pull the vehicle over and then turned on his blue lights. T1:67; see also Gov't Exh. 6 () at 21:02:30.
The BMW pulled into a parking lot at 8200 Roberts Drive. T1:67. Without instruction from Huffschmidt, the BMW driver opened the driver's side door. T1:67-68; Gov't Exh. 6 at 21:02:46. As Huffschmidt approached the BMW, he immediately smelled a strong odor of fresh, unburnt marijuana coming from it. T1:68, 84. He told the driver, Defendant Laughlin, that he stopped him for improper tag display, and further told him he smelled an odor of marijuana coming from the car. T1:68. Huffschmidt called for backup because he intended on searching the vehicle due to themarijuana smell. T1:68; Gov't Exh. 6 at 21:03-40. He asked Laughlin to step out of the vehicle, and he and Laughlin walked to the rear of the car. T1:68.
Huffschmidt patted down Laughlin and found no weapons, and after asking for his permission to search his person, he also searched his pockets, finding no contraband or weapons. T1:69. Huffschmidt described Laughlin as nervous because he could not stand still and was very talkative. T1:69. Laughlin did not have his driver's license on his person. Gov't Exh. 7 (Transcript of DVD) at 7.
When Sergeant Stevens arrived, Huffschmidt searched the BMW. T1:69. He found a marijuana roach under the driver's side seat, and inside the trunk he found what appeared to be raw marijuana leaves. T1:70. He did not ask Laughlin for consent to search the vehicle. T1:70. Stevens told Huffschmidt that since Laughlin kept walking towards the vehicle while Huffschmidt was searching it, after taking Laughlin's cell phone from him, Stevens put Laughlin in the back of Huffschmidt's patrol car,...
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