United States v. Smith
| Decision Date | 06 December 2021 |
| Docket Number | 20-cr-20322 |
| Parties | United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Markeithis Jawuan Smith, Defendant |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE [19]
On April 29, 2021, Defendant Markeithis Jawuan Smith filed a motion to suppress evidence. (ECF No. 19.) The government responded (ECF No. 25), and Defendant replied. (ECF No. 28.) On June 24, 2021, the Court held an evidentiary hearing. The government called as witnesses two police officers from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office: (1) Deputy Archie Wickham, and (2) Sergeant Cullen Knoblauch. The Court heard oral argument as well.
In his motion, Defendant asks that the Court suppress evidence that was seized during a stop “and any additional evidence that is the fruit of that illegal seizure” because Wickham, the officer who stopped him, lacked “reasonable particularized suspicion, ” so the stop violated the Fourth Amendment. (ECF No. 19, PageID.41, 43, 45.) Defendant argues that the stop was improper because it was based solely on a description Wickham received from dispatch. (See Id. at PageID.42-43.) Defendant states that the description was “vague” and “overbroad” and was provided by “an anonymous caller whose reliability could not be tested.” (Id. at PageID.54.) The government disputes that the description came from a tip that was anonymous and argues that Wickham had reasonable suspicion to stop and search Defendant based on the totality of the circumstances. For the reasons set forth below Defendant's motion is GRANTED.
Defendant is charged with one count of illegal receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(n) and 924(a)(1)(D). (ECF No. 1.) This charge is “based on the recovery of a firearm after a stop by Deputy Wickham [at Greenwood Food Market[1] located] at 212 W. Biddle Street in Jackson, Michigan.” (ECF No. 19, PageID.41.)
Wickham stopped Defendant at Greenwood Food Market at around 11:00 p.m. on February 22, 2020 after “20-30 gunshots were fired near 332 W. Morrell Street in Jackson, Michigan.” (Id. at PageID.42.) That night, Wickham “responded to assist the Jackson City Police Department with a shots fired call in the area of Greenwood and W Biddle St.” (ECF No. 19-3, PageID.86.) According to a report authored by Wickham, “[p]rior to arriving in the area dispatch advised several shots had been fired and they gave a description of several black males running from the area wearing all black with black hooded sweatshirts and the hoods pulled over their heads.”[2] (Id.; see ECF No. 19-4, PageID.88.)
Wickham-who has worked for the Jackson County Sheriff's Office for seventeen years and has spent the last six years on road patrol-and Knoblauch-who recently retired after over twenty-two years in law enforcement, primarily serving as a road patrol officer-testified that the shots were fired in a high crime area. Wickham estimated that shots are fired in the area “at least once a week, if not more, ” and Knoblauch stated that “it's a very hot or very popular area for shots fired calls.” Knoblauch stated that the area has a large African American population. In terms of the area that they were describing, the government indicated at the hearing that Wickham's testimony related to “the area generally associated with” the maps the parties included as exhibits to their filings. (See ECF No. 25-4, PageID.126; ECF No. 28-2, PageID.139.) And Knoblauch defined the high crime area as the area south of West Wesley Street, north of the City's southern limit, east of West Avenue, and west of Cooper Street. He stated that it is a “fairly large” area.
When Wickham heard dispatch report that shots had been fired, he was in a car in the parking lot of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at 212 West Wesley Street. Wickham left the parking lot and drove west on West Wesley Street because he heard that the shots fired were coming from the area of the 300 block of Morrell Street. He then went south on South Blackstone Street, also in the direction of the shots fired. When he was on South Blackstone Street, Wickham heard that the suspects were running east toward Greenwood Cemetery, [3] so he turned left on West Biddle Street (before reaching Morrell Street) and traveled east toward Greenwood Food Market, which he indicated is on the northeast corner of West Biddle Street and Greenwood Avenue.[4] Wickham testified that the market's parking lot is accessible from both West Biddle Street and Greenwood Avenue. He indicated on cross-examination that dispatch never said that the suspects headed north to Greenwood Food Market.
(ECF No. 19-3, PageID.86; see ECF No. 19-4, PageID.88.) The Dispatch Report contains an entry from “11:01:04 PM” that says: “PER 512-2 B/MS BLK HOODIES JUST RAN INTO GW FOOD.” (ECF No. 25-2, PageID.116, 120.) Wickham testified that “512-2” refers to him; it is his call sign because that is his car's number.
Wickham first saw the two individuals mentioned in his report when he was at the stop sign at West Biddle Street and Greenwood Avenue, across the street from Greenwood Food Market. Wickham believed that the individuals matched the description from dispatch because they were Black males wearing all black and black hoodies, and he recalled that their hoods were up. It was dark outside except for streetlights, but Wickham's view of the individuals was clear and unobstructed. Wickham stated that the individuals were walking westbound on West Biddle Street in front of the market and in the market's parking lot, so they were walking toward Wickham (who was facing east on West Biddle Street), toward Greenwood Avenue, and toward the location of the shooting. The individuals looked in Wickham's direction and saw Wickham, continued walking, and walked into the market. Wickham agreed during his testimony that the individuals would have been coming from South Jackson Street. Wickham indicated during cross-examination that when he saw the individuals, he was not aware that they were engaged in any kind of criminal activity.
Wickham acknowledged during his testimony that the information he heard from dispatch was that six Black males dressed all in black and wearing black hoodies were running from the 300 block of West Morrell Street toward the cemetery. But he indicated that, based on his experience as a police officer, he would not consider it strange to find the individuals spread out in different locations. He stated that individuals who commit a crime typically run away from the crime.
Wickham pulled into Greenwood Food Market's parking lot and waited for backup. Because the call involved guns, he did not want to go inside the market by himself for safety reasons. Wickham's report indicates that Knoblauch, who was Wickham's supervisor that night, arrived at the parking lot, [6] and Wickham informed him of the situation. (See ECF No. 19-3, PageID.86.) Knoblauch had heard “[d]ispatch advise[] they received calls that the suspects in the shots fired call were black males wearing all black.” (ECF No. 19-4, PageID.88.)
When one of the individuals who Wickham had observed enter Greenwood Food Market exited the store, Knoblauch stopped him and patted him down, “and no weapons were located.”[7] (Id.; see ECF No. 19-2, PageID.81; ECF No. 19-3, PageID.86.) Wickham testified that the individual was not out of breath. Knoblauch recorded his interaction with this individual in a written report as follows:
When the first suspect walked out of the Greenwood Food and Beverage he stated his name was Deante Smith. He said his friend Markeithis Smith was inside Greenwood Food and Beverage. I asked him if he had heard shots fired he stated he heard approximately 20 shots fired and pointed in a south direction. He then stated that he came from the south direction in the area of, the subject started to say he had come from Morrell Street then stated that he was on Williams Street when he heard the shots fired. At that point, Deputy Wickham did walk into the Greenwood Food and Beverage while I was there with [Jackson City Police] Officer Stallworth. The subject then stated that he was at the Franklin Homes which are on Franklin Street and Francis.[8]Before I walked into Greenwood Food and Beverage the subject stated that he came down Biddle Street. At that point, the subject was left with Officer Stallworth.
(ECF No. 19-4, PageID.88; see ECF No. 19-5, 01:01-02:31.) With respect to the individual's statement about being on Morrell Street, Knoblauch's body camera footage reflects that the individual stated that he heard the shots fired and said: (ECF No. 19-5, 01:43-02:15.)
Wickham's report does not mention what the individual said to Knoblauch.[9] (See ECF No. 19-3, PageID.86.) Wickham testified that he heard Knoblauch speak with the individual and heard the individual mention Morrell Street, Williams Street, and the Franklin Homes. Wickham stated that the individual said he was on Morrell Street while gesturing toward the west (in the direction of where the shots were fired), then “corrected himself and said Williams, ” and then mentioned the Franklin Homes, which are farther east than Williams Street. Wickham...
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