US v. Patterson

• Decision Date: 02 October 1987
• Docket Number: Crim. No. HM87-0213.
• Citation: 691 F. Supp. 908
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Donald PATTERSON.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

691 F. Supp. 908

UNITED STATES of America v. Donald PATTERSON.

Crim. No. HM87-0213.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

October 2, 1987.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Breckenridge L. Willcox, U.S. Atty., and Veronica Clarke, Asst. U.S. Atty., Baltimore, Md., for plaintiff.

Leslie Alvin Stein, Phillip M. Sutley and Arcangelo M. Tuminelli, Baltimore, Md., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM

HERBERT F. MURRAY, District Judge.

Defendant Donald Patterson is charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. Section 841(a)(1) and with three counts regarding the possession of firearms. Presently before the court are a number of motions filed by defendant. The government has filed its response to all motions. The court finds that the majority do not require a hearing. Local Rule 6. The court held a hearing on selected motions on September 3, 1987, and is now prepared to rule.

MOTIONS TO SUPPRESS

Motion to Suppress Tangible and Derivative Evidence, Paper # 13¹

On April 14, 1987, a judge of the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City issued an arrest warrant for defendant and a search warrant for an apartment associated with the defendant. As the police arrived at the apartment complex, they saw defendant exiting the building. They arrested him, and searched both him and his car. The officers then searched the apartment, in which they found more than 500 grams of cocaine, $14,947.00 in cash, and three firearms.

Defendant alleges that each of these three searches was conducted in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. The court disagrees. The police conducted these searches with arrest and search warrants. The totality of the circumstances as outlined in the application and affidavit for the warrants reveal the requisite probable cause. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983); Michigan v. DeFillippo, 443 U.S. 31, 37, 99 S.Ct. 2627, 2632, 61 L.Ed.2d 343 (1979). Two separate informants both stated that they had observed Patterson with cocaine inside the apartment named in the search warrant. One had purchased cocaine from Patterson in the apartment. The officers saw the defendant leaving the apartment building just before they arrested him. Because the officers lawfully arrested defendant, they could, consistently with the Fourth Amendment, search both him and the passenger compartment of his car incident to that arrest. United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 235, 94 S.Ct. 467, 477, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973); New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454, 460, 101 S.Ct. 2860, 2864, 69 L.Ed.2d 768 (1981). The court will therefore deny the Motion to Suppress Tangible and Derivative Evidence for all three searches.

Motion to Suppress Tangible and Derivative Evidence Seized in New Jersey, Paper # 27

At the hearing, the court heard testimony from Officer Lewis Arce ("Arce") of the New Jersey State Police and United States Customs Agent Abraham Cordero ("Cordero"). Arce stated that on March 9, 1987, a motorist complained to him about defendant's erratic driving on the New Jersey Turnpike. Concerned that defendant might be intoxicated, Arce stopped him. With Patterson were two passengers, Dante Drake and Tony Roberts. Defendant, who had no driver's license with him, gave his name as James Patterson, his age as 21, and his date of birth as April 16, 1961. When one of the passengers reached for the car's registration, the officer noticed a large amount of cash in the glove compartment. The car was registered to Deborah Atkins ("Atkins"). Defendant explained that they were disc jockeys, and that they were heading to New York to buy stereo equipment. Roberts stated that the three intended to buy lighting equipment. Drake stated that they were going to New York to drive around the city. Patterson explained that the car and the money belonged to Atkins, his aunt. Defendant stated that his money was in the trunk. At this point, Arce read defendant his rights as required by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) and requested permission to search the car. He further advised defendant that he could withdraw his consent to the search at any time. Defendant consented, stating that he had nothing to hide. In the car's trunk, the officer discovered cash in excess of $16,000.00, wrapped in small bundles and secured with rubber bands. Because of this money, because of defendant's lack of identification, because of the inconsistency between defendant's stated age and date of birth, because the car did not belong to any of the three men, because they gave conflicting stories about their trip, and because the three seemed nervous, the officer decided to take them to the police station. Another officer, whom Arce contacted by radio, assisted him in transporting the three.

At the station, Arce gave defendant a ticket for driving without a license. He again read the Miranda rights to the defendant. Patterson stated that the car belonged to Atkins, whom he identified at this time as his sister. Defendant signed, with the name of James Patterson, a consent form authorizing another search of the car. When confronted with the inconsistency between his date of birth and age, defendant stated that his real name was Donald Patterson. Using this name, he signed a second consent form for the search of the car. Police officers again searched the car, in defendant's presence. Arce checked the serial numbers on some of the bills, and ascertained that they were not stolen from a bank. He then arranged for Cordero to bring a narcotics-detecting dog. While awaiting Cordero, Arce spoke with Atkins, who advised him that Patterson had her permission to use the car. Some time later, Cordero arrived with the dog Honeybee. The dog sniffed the entire car, and reacted positively to the money in the trunk and glove compartment. The money was then confiscated as contraband. Arce released defendant and his passengers without filing charges.

The government wants to introduce evidence of this incident at trial, particularly the following:

1. defendant's use of different names and dates of birth;

2. defendant's use of the car;

3. the money found in the trunk;

4. the ticket defendant received, found in defendant's apartment during the April 14, 1987 search;

5. the reaction of Honeybee to the money; and

6. the receipt for the confiscated money, also found in defendant's apartment.

Defendant moves to exclude all such evidence seized from him or discovered as a result of this encounter with the New Jersey State police. He argues that exclusion is proper because the police and U.S. Customs Agent conducted the warrantless search and seizure in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Alternatively, defendant argues that the court should exclude the evidence pursuant to Fed.R.E. 404(b).

Fourth Amendment Challenge

Defendant rightly does not contend that Arce's stopping him on the side of the road violated his Fourth Amendment rights. A roadside stop is a seizure analogous to a Terry investigative stop, requiring the seizing officer to have an articulable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 439, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 3150, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984); Delaware v. Rouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 1396, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 16, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1877, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Arce had a reasonable, articulable suspicion, based on the report from the motorist, that defendant might be driving while intoxicated.

Once Arce had stopped defendant to inquire about his driver's license and registration, he noted the money when a passenger opened the glove compartment. The Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the introduction of evidence within the plain view of a police officer. Texas v. Brown, 460 U.S. 730, 739, 103 S.Ct. 1535, 1541, 75 L.Ed.2d 502 (1983); Washington v. Chrisman, 455 U.S. 1, 5-6, 102 S.Ct. 812, 816, 70 L.Ed.2d 778 (1982). With regard to the search of the trunk, the court finds, based on the uncontradicted testimony of Arce, that the government has satisfied its burden of proving that the defendant consented to the search. Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 222, 248, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2045, 2059, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). Arce testified that, when he asked defendant if he could search the trunk, not only did defendant inform him that he had nothing to hide, but he opened the trunk himself. Since Arce found the money in the trunk pursuant to the lawful search, the court finds no constitutional barrier to its admission.

The court finds that, from the point in time at which Arce informed defendant that he wanted him to come to the police station, defendant was under arrest. The fact that, according to Arce, he merely detained defendant does not determine the Fourth Amendment inquiry. Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 212-216, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 2256-2258, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979); Davis v. Mississippi, 394 U.S. 721, 726-7, 89 S.Ct. 1394, 1397-8, 22 L.Ed.2d 676 (1969). The question then becomes whether, given the totality of the circumstances, Arce now had probable cause, rather than only an articulable suspicion, to think that defendant had or was about to commit a crime. Gates, supra, 462 U.S. at 238, 103 S.Ct. at 2332. The court finds that, given that defendant did not have his driver's license with him and that the car was not registered to any of the passengers, as well as the existence of the large amount of cash, Arce had the requisite probable cause to seize defendant without a warrant. United States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411, 423, 96 S.Ct. 820, 827, 46 L.Ed.2d 598 (1976). Because the government again demonstrated Patterson's consent to search the car while Arce lawfully detained him, the court will not deny, on Fourth Amendment grounds, admissibility of any evidence obtained at that in time.

During some point in the 2 to 2½ hours he detained defe...