United States v. Meza-Gonzalez
| Decision Date | 16 April 2018 |
| Docket Number | 5:17-CR-00821 (1)-OLG |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. PEDRO MEZA-GONZALEZ |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas |
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
This Report and Recommendation concerns the Motion to Suppress filed by Defendant Pedro Meza-Gonzalez. Dkt. No. 20. The district court referred the motion to the undersigned for a Report and Recommendation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Western District of Texas Local Rules CR-58 and Appendix C. On January 12, 2017, the undersigned held a hearing on the motion. After reviewing Meza-Gonzalez's Motion to Suppress, Dkt. No. 20, the Response filed by the Government, Dkt. No. 22, Meza-Gonzalez's Reply, Dkt. No. 27, the Supplemental Briefing filed by the Government, Dkt. No. 31, and Meza-Gonzalez, Dkt. Nos. 32 (Def. 1st Supp. Br.) & 33 ("Def. 2nd Supp. Br."), and the entire record in this case, including the testimony provided at the January 12, 2017 hearing, the undersigned recommends that the motion be DENIED.
On September 15, 2017, local law-enforcement officers arrested Meza-Gonzalez for felony possession of a controlled substance. Later, because of that arrest, he came to the attention of federal authorities, who thereafter arrested him for unlawfully re-entering the country without permission to do so, after having previously been removed. See 18 U.S.C. § 1326. Meza-Gonzalez takes issue with the legality of the initial search by local police, as well as his subsequent arrest by them, which in turn led ultimately to his federal arrest.
Meza-Gonzalez testified at the January 12 hearing about events surrounding his arrest by local police. Immediately before his arrest, he explained in his testimony, he was legally parked and in the process of searching the backseat of his validly registered and insured vehicle. He was looking for an earring his daughter had lost in the car, which he believed had fallen behind the seat. A local police officer approached him. The officer, according to Meza-Gonzalez, inquired whether he was "Mexican" and then searched his vehicle. The officer discovered a glass pipe and torch lighter. Meza-Gonzalez conceded that the torch lighter was lying on the vehicle's center counsel. But he testified that the officer could not have spotted the glass pipe in plain view. Meza-Gonzalez testified that local police then placed him in handcuffs and asked him questions about his identity, including about his name, address, and nationality. Meza-Gonzalez testified that this occurred before he was administered any Miranda warnings. The police then formally arrested him. Next they transported him to the San Antonio Magistrate Office, where he was booked. He was released on bond later that day.
The next day, on September 16, 2017, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Deportation Officer Stephen Padilla arrived at the San Antonio Magistrate Office to conduct a daily "jail check," a process through which ICE officers identify individuals unlawfully present in the United States who have been arrested by city, county, and state authorities. According to ICE Officer Padilla, who also testified at the January 12 hearing, ICE jail checks are typically performed on a daily basis but manpower issues prevented ICE from coming on September 15—the date of Meza-Gonzalez's booking. A jail check typically entailsquestioning the individuals in each jail cell regarding their place of birth, after which an ICE deportation officer such as Officer Padilla verifies the information provided with information from either the San Antonio Magistrate Office's computer database, known as CMAGs, or the Bexar County booking system. The deportation officer then typically reviews the San Antonio Magistrate Office's daily physical log books and computer database to determine if any other foreign-born individuals were released the previous day on bond.
After conducting his cell checks the morning of September 16, Officer Padilla asked San Antonio Magistrate Office employees whether they had booked any foreign-born individuals the previous day. In response, an anonymous employee directed Officer Padilla to Meza-Gonzalez's name in the jail's log books. Officer Padilla then searched the CMAGs system for information related to Meza-Gonzalez, and Officer Padilla discovered there that Meza-Gonzalez was indeed foreign born and had been released on bond the previous day. Officer Padilla then obtained a copy of Meza-Gonzalez's mugshot from the Bexar County computer system, which in turn informed him of Meza-Gonzalez's date of birth. Officer Padilla next called the Law Enforcement Support Center ("LESC") operated by the Department of Homeland Security (HSI) and learned that an individual with the same name and date of birth as Meza-Gonzalez had previously been removed in 2007. Officer Padilla then pulled up Meza-Gonzalez's address from CMAGs and verified that Meza-Gonzalez's FBI number matched his record with the LESC.
The investigation continued. After leaving the San Antonio Magistrate's Office, Officer Padilla drove past the address listed for Meza-Gonzalez in CMAGs, which he did to confirm the address's validity. Then, to further confirm Meza-Gonzalez's identity and the validity of the information he had obtained thus far, Officer Padilla used HSI's Enforcement Alien Removal Module database, which logs all encounters with individuals taken into custody for immigrationpurposes, to compare Meza-Gonzalez's 2007 mugshot with the 2017 mugshot in the Bexar County database.
At some point between September 16 and September 26, 2017, Officer Padilla obtained a copy of the San Antonio police report, which provided information concerning the circumstances surrounding Meza-Gonzalez's September 15 arrest, his vehicle, and confirmation of his residence. Officer Padilla then conducted surveillance on Meza-Gonzalez's residence and confirmed that a matching vehicle was at the address.
On September 26, ten days after first discovering Meza-Gonzalez's identity and verifying his illegal status, Officer Padilla and other members of his team conducted surveillance on Meza-Gonzalez's residence. One hour later, as Meza-Gonzalez was leaving his apartment, two ICE agents approached him. After verbally confirming his name, the agents placed Meza-Gonzalez in handcuffs. Officer Padilla, who was stationed at a different part of the apartment complex during Meza-Gonzalez's initial apprehension, then came around and notified Meza-Gonzalez that he should never have been released by state authorities because of his immigration record. The agents then read Meza-Gonzalez his Miranda rights in the car and transported him to the station. Other than verbally confirming his name, Meza-Gonzalez did not make any statements to the ICE agents prior to his arrest or in the car on the way to the station. It is undisputed that ICE did not obtain a warrant prior to arresting Meza-Gonzalez.
After arriving at ICE's San Antonio resident office, Meza-Gonzalez was digitally fingerprinted in accordance with ICE's standard booking procedures, which automatically generated a list of all Meza-Gonzalez's prior encounters with immigration agents and prior arrests. Officer Padilla then began the process of creating Meza-Gonzalez's I-213, a form ICE agents typically complete when processing an individual who is unlawfully present in thecountry. This involved "copying and pasting" information from Meza-Gonzalez's prior I-213 and adding additional information relating to his most recent arrest. At some point during this process, Officer Padilla verbally confirmed Meza-Gonzalez's name and re-administered the Miranda warnings. Officer Padilla credibly testified that because Meza-Gonzalez exercised his right to remain silent, Officer Padilla refrained from asking Meza-Gonzalez any questions that, if answered, might cause Meza-Gonzalez to incriminate himself. This included refraining from asking questions about whether Meza-Gonzalez possessed fake immigration documents, how he had re-entered the United States, or the circumstances surrounding his prior removal. After completing the I-213, identified as the Government's Exhibit No. 2, Officer Padilla read Meza-Gonzalez the information contained in the form. Officer Padilla then provided Meza-Gonzalez the option to sign the form, which Meza-Gonzalez refused to do. At some point during this process, Meza-Gonzalez expressed confusion regarding his state arrest and denied any wrongdoing in connection with it. In response, Officer Padilla informed Meza-Gonzalez that his arrest by state authorities was between him and the state of Texas. Officer Padilla then advised Meza-Gonzalez that he should consider retaining an attorney. Officer Padilla then ordered Meza-Gonzalez's Alien Registration File ("A-file") from the National Records Center, a division of HSI. Officer Padilla credibly testified that none of the information contained in Meza-Gonzalez's A-file came from statements made by Meza-Gonzalez.
On October 6, 2017, Meza-Gonzalez appeared with counsel before the Honorable Elizabeth S. Chestney for a preliminary and detention hearing. Officer Padilla testified at the hearing. See Appendix A to Repl. After considering Officer Padilla's testimony and the information in the pretrial services report, Judge Chestney found probable cause to conclude that Meza-Gonzalez was an illegal alien who had previously been removed, and that he was found inthe United States without permission to re-enter. Judge Chestney also found that pretrial detention was warranted.
On September 26, 2017, Meza-Gonzalez was charged by way of a criminal complaint for being present voluntarily and unlawfully in the United States, having previously been removed on or about April 17, 2007, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) & (b)(1). Dkt. No. 1. On October 18, 2017,...
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