United States v. Williams

• Decision Date: 13 May 2013
• Docket Number: Criminal No. 3:13MJ137 (DJN).
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. Larry B. WILLIAMS, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia

945 F.Supp.2d 665

UNITED STATES of America,

v.Larry B. WILLIAMS, Defendant.

Criminal No. 3:13MJ137 (DJN).

United States District Court,

E.D. Virginia,

Richmond Division.

May 13, 2013.

Katharine M.E. Adams, Michael C. Moore, United States Attorney's Office, Richmond, VA, for Plaintiff.

Elizabeth W. Hanes, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Richmond, VA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DAVID J. NOVAK, United States Magistrate Judge.

Defendant Larry B. Williams seeks suppression of evidence obtained by the police from his vehicle after a traffic stop that followed Defendant's vehicle weaving in his lane to the extent that he touched and rode on the right fog line several times and briefly crossed the center line. Defendant challenges the validity of the stop, arguing that the police officer had no basis to initiate the stop, because mere contact without crossing the fog line does not support a charge for failure to maintain a lane of travel. For the reasons that follow, the Court finds that, based on the totality of the circumstances, the officer had reasonable suspicion to stop Defendant's vehicle for both Failure to Maintain a Single Lane of Traffic in violation of the Code of Virginia § 46.2–804 and Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in violation of the Code of Virginia § 18.2–266(ii).¹ Therefore, the Court DENIES Defendant's motion.

I. Factual Background

The Court conducted an evidentiary hearing on Defendant's motion on April 11, 2013. During the hearing, the arresting officer, Albert Purdy, testified as to the events leading up to the stop of Defendant's vehicle. Defendant called no witnesses and offered no evidence that contradicted Officer Purdy's description of the events. After hearing Officer Purdy's testimony and considering all of the evidence admitted during the hearing, the Court found Officer Purdy to be credible as to all aspects of his testimony. (Suppression Hearing Transcript “Tr.” at 32.) Officer Purdy's testimony established the following facts. ²

Officer Purdy serves as a patrolman with the Fort Lee Police Department, having roughly 12 years of prior law enforcement experience. (Tr. at 5–6.) After attending the military police academy, Officer Purdy received on-the-job training at Fort Bragg, Fort Meyer and in Korea. (Tr. at 6). He serves on the DUI driving interdiction team at Fort Lee. (Tr. at 6.) Officer Purdy has investigated approximately 20 other potential infractions for driving under the influence on Route 36 in Fort Lee, Virginia, where the driver exhibited a pattern of weaving and touching the fog lines.³ (Tr. at 14–15.) In 18 of those cases, the driver was found to be intoxicated, while medical emergencies accounted for the other two. (Tr. at 14–15.)

On January 9, 2013, Officer Purdy was on duty and in an unmarked car travelling westbound on Route 36. (Tr. at 32, 45.) At the time of the incident, Officer Purdy's vehicle contained a dashboard-mounted video camera. (Tr. at 8.) However, the camera did not begin operating until shortly before Officer Purdy activated his lights; therefore, the resulting video of the incident (marked as Government's Exhibit 10) begins roughly a minute before the activation of the lights. (Tr. at 8–9, 21.) Thus, the video failed to capture Officer Purdy's initial observation of Defendant's vehicle driving over, but not crossing, the right fog line for approximately five feet. (Tr. at 8–9, 22.)

This incident began shortly after 9:00 p.m. on January 9, 2013, when Officer Purdy observed Defendant's vehicle approximately 75 feet in front of him. (Tr. at 32.) There was traffic trailing Defendant's vehicle in the left lane adjacent to Defendant's lane. (Tr. at 32.) Officer Purdy saw Defendant's vehicle driving over, but not crossing, the right fog line for approximately five feet. (Tr. at 8–9, 22.) Consequently, Officer Purdy began to pay closer attention to Defendant's vehicle. (Tr. at 9.) Even though Defendant drove his vehicle on top of the right fog line for several feet and Officer Purdy believed that he could have issued a citation to Defendant at that point for failing to maintain a single lane of traffic, Officer Purdy elected at that time not to stop Defendant, because the driver may have “sneezed, maybe he dropped something, something could happen in the vehicle where a little kid threw something up to the window and he swerved over. I give that a correction.” (Tr. 18–19.) But then, after witnessing a pattern of Defendant's vehicle “weaving back and forth, and then finally touching [the fog line] again,” Officer Purdy ultimately decided to stop Defendant's vehicle for failing to maintain a single lane of traffic and because Officer Purdy believed that Defendant was driving while impaired. (Tr. at 19.)

After initially observing Defendant's vehicle drive on top of the right fog line for roughly five feet, Officer Purdy then saw Defendant's vehicle swerve left to the center dotted line. (Tr. at 11.) Defendant's vehicle then moved right to the right fog line, but not over the line. (Tr. at 11.) Defendant's vehicle then swerved back to the center dotted line, then back to the middle and then again to the right fog line. (Tr. at 11–12). Defendant's vehicle then again moved back towards the center dotted line and then back to the right fog line. (Tr. at 12.) During this time, Officer Purdy observed at least four people in the back seat of Defendant's vehicle, which raised additional safety concerns for the officer. (Tr. at 12.) The weaving of Defendant's vehicle also concerned the officer, because Defendant's vehicle could have come into contact with other vehicles in the left lane. (Tr. at 13.) Indeed, Officer Purdy testified that the video depicts Defendant's vehicle crossing the center line into the left lane on one occasion. (Tr. at 13.) The video also depicts other vehicles driving in the left lane, trailing behind Defendant's vehicle. (Tr. at 32; Gov't Ex. 10.) Notably, no adverse road or weather conditions existed at the time. (Tr. at 10, 14.)

In addition to Defendant having failed to his maintain his vehicle in a single lane and the safety issues raised by Defendant's driving, Officer Purdy believed that Defendant was driving while impaired from alcohol. (Tr. at 13–14.) For these reasons and based on his previous experience with similar cases, Officer Purdy stopped Defendant's vehicle. (Tr. at 14.) As previously noted, during twenty previous stops of vehicles that weaved back and forth, Officer Purdy found that all but two involved intoxicated drivers and the other situations involved drivers that required attention (one driver was trying to commit suicide in her vehicle and the other had a medical issue). (Tr. at 16–17.)

Officer Purdy also explained his understanding of the significance of the fog lines on each side of the highway. Officer Purdy believed that the fog lines are not part of the roadway and, instead, serve as warning devices to drivers. (Tr. at 18.) Thus, in Officer Purdy's view, a driver who drives on a fog line has failed to maintain his vehicle in his lane of travel. (Tr. at 18.) Therefore, Officer Purdy believed that Defendant violated that statute (failing to maintain a single lane of travel) when Defendant initially drove on the right fog line for five feet. (Tr. at 18–19.)

Officer Purdy conceded that Defendant drove his vehicle within the speed limit, neither driving too fast or too slow. (Tr. at 24.) Officer Purdy further acknowledged that Defendant's vehicle never crossed over the right fog line on any occasion; instead, his vehicle merely touched the right fog line. (Tr. at 24.) The video also shows that Defendant's vehicle crossed the center dotted line on the left of Defendant's lane of travel; however, at the time of the stop, Officer Purdy did not see Defendant's vehicle actually cross the center line. (Tr. at 34–36.) Officer Purdy turned on his lights and stopped Defendant's vehicle, believing that Defendant was intoxicated and that he violated the statute for failure to maintain a single lane of traffic. (Tr. at 32–33.)

Ultimately, Defendant was charged with conspiracy to steal government property, theft of government property, illegal provision of alcohol to individual under 21, possession of marijuana and failure to maintain lane. (Criminal Information (ECF No. 1) at 2, 4–5). Defendant moves to suppress all statements and evidence obtained from the stop on the basis that Officer Purdy lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop of Defendant's vehicle. (Def.'s Mot. to Suppress (ECF No. 12) at 2.) ⁴

II. Analysis

Defendant's motion challenges whether Officer Purdy had reasonable suspicion that Defendant was engaged in criminal activity; specifically, whether Defendant failed to maintain a single lane of travel under the Code of Virginia § 46.2–804 or whether Defendant was driving while under the influence of alcohol. Concluding that Officer Purdy had reasonable suspicion to stop Defendant's vehicle for both offenses, the Court finds that a lawful basis existed for stopping Defendant's vehicle.

A. General Principles Regarding Traffic Stops.

“Temporary detention of individuals during the stop of an automobile by the police, even if only for a brief period and for a limited purpose, constitutes a ‘seizure’ of ‘persons' within the meaning” of the Fourth Amendment. Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 809–10, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996). “An automobile stop is thus subject to the constitutional imperative that it not be ‘unreasonable’ under the circumstances. As a general matter, the decision to stop an automobile is reasonable where the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred.” Id. at 810, 116 S.Ct. 1769. However, probable cause is not “an indispensable component of reasonableness.” United States v. Rendon, 607 F.3d 982, 989 (4th Cir.2010) (quoting Nat'l Treasury Emps. Union v. Von Raab, 489 U.S. 656, 665, 109 S.Ct. 1384, 103 L.Ed.2d 685 (1989)...