United States v. Luck

CourtUnited States District Courts. 11th Circuit. United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. Northern District of Georgia
Citation560 F. Supp. 258
Docket NumberCrim. A. No. CR82-36R.
PartiesUNITED STATES of America v. John Oscar LUCK, Ralph Larry Pace, William Page Vicary, Gene Claude Easterling, Lewis Franklin Crump, Charles Donald Boldin, and Johnny Ray Moore, Defendants.
Decision Date18 February 1983

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Steven R. Wisebram, Asst. U.S. Atty., Atlanta, Ga., for plaintiff.

Victoria D. Little, Decatur, Ga., for Luck.

Steven W. Ludwick, Atlanta, Ga., for Pace.

Calvin A. Leipold, Jr., Decatur, Ga., for Vicary.

Bobby D. Wilson, Atlanta, Ga., for Easterling.

Joseph M. Salome, Atlanta, Ga., for Crump.

W. Michael Maloof, Decatur, Ga., for Boldin.

Jerome Froelich, Jr., Atlanta, Ga., for Moore.

ORDER

HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge.

This Order sets forth in writing the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law in denying the defendants' motion to suppress.

I

Defendants Luck, Pace, Vicary, Easterling, Crump, Boldin and Moore were arrested at or in close proximity of the LaFayette Municipal Airport in LaFayette, Georgia, in the early morning hours of October 25, 1982. A recently-landed plane and four automobiles were seized, and two of the automobiles seized on the airstrip contained duffle bags filled with 633 pounds of cocaine, wrapped in numerous plastic bags.

Defendants subsequently were indicted for importation and possession with intent to distribute the cocaine, and for conspiring to commit both acts. They made timely motions to suppress all evidence and effects seized at the airport, primarily contending that there was no probable cause to arrest the defendants, and thus, that all items eventually seized, including the cocaine, should be excluded from their trial as the fruits of their illegal arrests. See Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963).

The Court heard evidence on December 1-4, 10, 13 and 14, 1982. Because the arrests and searches were conducted without a warrant, the Court placed upon the Government the burden of proving that the arrests were supported by probable cause, Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 390-391, 98 S.Ct. 2408, 2412, 57 L.Ed.2d 290 (1978); Williams v. United States, 382 F.2d 48 (5th Cir.1967); the burden then shifting to the defendants to establish violations of their Fourth Amendment interests to those items seized or searched, other than those taken from them personally. See United States v. Salvucci, 448 U.S. 83, 100 S.Ct. 2547, 65 L.Ed.2d 619 (1980); Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98, 104, 100 S.Ct. 2556, 2561, 65 L.Ed.2d 633 (1980).

The novel procedural development during the motion to suppress requires the Court to set forth its findings of fact in a manner that it ordinarily would not. As will be discussed, following its presentation of evidence on probable cause to arrest, the government rested. Before proceeding with their production of evidence, defendants demanded a ruling from the Court on the issue of probable cause, resulting in the denial of their suppression motion. Five of the defendants rested at this point, seeking to rely on the record as it then stood. Two defendants proceeded to try to establish that the evidence upon which the government sought to rely was not credible, and to force disclosure of the government's informant. Other defendants then "rejoined" the case during the "standing" portion of the hearing.

The Court, of course, is convinced that its initial order denying the motion to suppress based on the want of probable cause is correct. The Court also concludes that, because the focus of the probable cause inquiry was the knowledge and perspective of the arresting officers (which the Court may glean from the record as a whole), the attempt to limit the admissibility against the five "resting" defendants was ineffective, and all subsequent probable cause evidence was admissible against them. Nonetheless, the Court will review its finding of fact on a witness-by-witness basis, so that the record first is analyzed at the time of the original order, and then by consideration of subsequent evidence.1

II

The government's first witness was FBI Special Agent J. Wayne Sturdivant. He testified that he spoke with Mike Ellis, the LaFayette airport manager, on October 5, 1982. Ellis related to Sturdivant that on that date, sometime after 2:00 p.m., a Navajo Panther aircraft, tail number N808PC, flew into the airport. The plane was piloted by "Chuck" (later identified as defendant Boldin), who was accompanied by "Larry" (later identified as defendant Pace). (Transcript of proceedings of December 2, 1982, at page 15) (hereinafter referred to as T 12/2 at 15). Ellis further stated that Chuck and Larry worked on the plane, with Larry taking the seats out of the airplane and putting them in the hangar. At one point, Chuck went into town seeking a hydraulic connection to aid in putting a fuel bladder in the plane. (T 12/2 at 16). Ellis described the plane as burnt orange in color with a brown stripe. He further told Sturdivant that Chuck and Larry left LaFayette about 4:00 or 4:30 p.m., Chuck leaving in the plane to go to Michigan, and Larry leaving in a late model white Chevrolet. (T 12/2 at 19).

On October 6, 1982, Sturdivant was at the airport from 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. on, to act as security for Ellis and to see the people if they returned. (Boldin previously had told Ellis that he would return on October 6.) Shortly thereafter, Pace arrived at the airstrip in a blue Buick, Georgia license NCC713. Sturdivant overheard Pace tell Ellis that he got lost on the way from Atlanta.

At about 8:00 or 8:15 p.m., N808PC returned, piloted by Boldin, who was accompanied by "Bill" (later identified as defendant Vicary) and one "Dennis". The plane landed from north to south and taxied back to the fuel pumps in front of the airport office. During the evening, Vicary was in and out of the office, viewing aeronautical charts, drinking coffee, and making small talk. Pace and Boldin were working on the plane, taking a panel off the bottom of the plane and filling the bladder with fuel. The individuals left at about 11:45 p.m., Pace leaving in the Buick and Boldin, Vicary and "Dennis" departing in the plane. Sturdivant testified that Vicary told Ellis that he was going to the Bahamas and wanted Ellis to go with him (T 12/2 at 23).

Sturdivant further testified that he was at the airport investigating allegations that these individuals were going to transport cocaine in from out of the country (T 12/2 at 24), and that that information came from an informant (T 12/2 at 25).

On October 20, 1982 (Wednesday), Sturdivant again talked with Ellis, who told him that N808PC had flown in, piloted by Boldin, who this time was accompanied by his 14 or 15 year old son, Don. Ellis related that Boldin asked whether his friends were there (at the airstrip), and that Boldin further stated that he was supposed to have met them at the Atlanta airport. (T 12/2 at 27). Boldin told Ellis that he would be leaving, and would be back Friday night (October 22), to put the seats back in the plane on Saturday, and purchase more fuel. Ellis told Sturdivant that he took Boldin and his son to the Surrey Motel in LaFayette, that Boldin gave Ellis $1000 for fuel, and after Boldin registered at the motel, Ellis left.

Sturdivant further related that Officer Jewel of the Georgia State Patrol told him that he checked the Surrey Motel Saturday morning and saw the blue Buick, license number NCC713, parked there. Ellis told Sturdivant that around 4:00 a.m. on October 21 (Thursday), he heard two planes leave from the airstrip. When he went to the airport, N808PC was gone.

Special Agent Harold Poe testified next. He stated that he was a certified pilot with an instrument commercial rating. He said that surveillance of the LaFayette airstrip was undertaken on Friday night, October 22, 1982. Although Poe personally was not present that night, he testified that some vehicles and people were there.

On October 23, Poe was conducting surveillance of the airport, along with other law enforcement officers, from a mobile home trailer on the north end of the airstrip. He arrived at about 7:30 p.m. He testified that about one hour later, four cars in parade-like fashion came past the airport office area, pulled onto the airstrip, and drove down the runway for a few hundred yards. The autos backed into the fence on the west side of the airstrip, and turned their headlights out. Although he did not see any of the vehicles well enough to identify them, he testified that he saw a person fitting the description of Boldin and a person later identified as defendant Easterling at the restroom and office area. He also testified that at about 10:00 p.m., he saw two people, not attached to the surveillance squads, milling around on the ramp. They came running out from the front of the hangar and hid behind a corner, looking down the flight line as if something had frightened them. After thirty seconds, they returned to the cars. (T 12/2 at 36). At around 2:00 a.m., the four vehicles turned their lights on, pulled up the runway and left. Surveillance was broken off shortly afterwards.

Poe stated that on October 24, he came to the airport trailer shortly before dark and resumed surveillance. He observed three cars enter the airport through the same gate as the previous night, go down the runway in almost the same manner, to about the same place, back in towards the fence, and turn their lights off. (T 12/2 at 37). He stated that during the course of his surveillance he saw Boldin and two individuals identified later as Luck and Crump, use the restroom. He also saw Boldin use the phone a couple of times Saturday and Sunday nights. (T 12/2 at 38).

At about 12:10 a.m. (October 25), Poe saw a person appearing to be Boldin run from the office/telephone area, down the runway to where the cars had been seen earlier. Poe communicated this to various surveillance teams...

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2 cases
  • U.S. v. Boldin, 84-8672
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • 27 Septiembre 1985
    ...seized on the airstrip contained duffle bags filled with 633 pounds of cocaine, wrapped in numerous plastic bags. United States v. Luck, 560 F.Supp. 258, 260 (N.D.Ga.1983). The grand jury indicted these persons on October 28, 1982. Trial began December 1, 1982, and ended January 18, 1983, w......
  • U.S. v. Crump
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • 13 Junio 1984
    ...1527 736 F.2d 1527 **U.S. v. Crump 83-8181 United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. 6/13/84 N.D.Ga., 560 F.Supp. 258 ** Local Rule: 25 case. ...

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