USA v. Allen

Decision Date30 October 2020
Docket NumberCase No. 20-cr-00300-HSG-1
Citation497 F.Supp.3d 811
Parties USA, Plaintiff, v. James David ALLEN, Defendant.
CourtU.S. District Court — Northern District of California

Michael Anthony Rodriguez, U.S. Attorney's Office, San Francisco, CA, Noah Stern, United States Attorney's Office, Oakland, CA, for Plaintiff.

Hanni Meena Fakhoury, Lisa, Ma, Federal Public Defender, Oakland, CA, Varell Laphalle Fuller, Federal Public Defender Northern District of California, San Jose, CA, for Defendant.

ORDER DENYING IN PART AND GRANTING IN PART MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE

Re: Dkt. No. 20

HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR., United States District Judge

Pending before the Court is Defendant James David Allen II's ("Defendant") motion to suppress (Dkt. No. 20, "Motion"), for which the briefing is complete. Dkt. No. 50 ("Opp."); Dkt. No. 59 ("Reply"). On October 19, 2020, the government sought permission to file a sur-reply, which the Court granted on October 20, 2020, and the Court allowed Defendant to file a response by October 21, 2020. Dkt. No. 79. On October 21 and 28, 2020, Defendant filed its responses to the government's sur-reply. Dkt. Nos. 80, 94. On October 21, 2020, the Court held a hearing on the Motion. Dkt. No. 82. At that hearing, the Court determined that an evidentiary hearing was necessary for the resolution of the Motion, and on October 26 and 28, 2020, the Court held that evidentiary hearing. Dkt. Nos. 91, 97. For the reasons set forth below, the Court DENIES in part and GRANTS in part the Motion.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On July 8, 2020, at approximately 10:36 a.m., Pinole Police Department ("PPD") dispatcher Terri Krieger ("Dispatcher Krieger") received a call that two abandoned vehicles were parked on the street in a residential neighborhood of Pinole, California. Hearing Ex. 2 (Detail Call For Service Report) at 3; Dkt. No. 78-1 ("Krieger Decl.") ¶ 3.1 The caller informed Dispatcher Krieger of the license plate numbers of both vehicles, and said that the "vehicles have been there for several days." Id.

Dispatcher Krieger ran both of the license plate numbers, and received registration information for each vehicle. Krieger Decl. ¶ 4. The results for one of the vehicles, an older blue Toyota Corolla ("Corolla") with Washington plates, showed that it had been reported as "possible stolen" out of Washington in both the Washington Department of Licensing and the National Crime Information Center ("NCIC") databases. Hearing Ex. 2 at 3; Krieger Decl. ¶ 5. The NCIC results listed the Everett Police Department ("EPD") in Washington as the reporting agency, and Dispatcher Krieger called the phone number listed for the EPD in the search result and spoke to a woman at the department who confirmed that the Corolla had been reported stolen. Krieger Decl. ¶ 6-7; October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 29:22-30:3 ("She asked me for the license plate on the car. I gave it to her. ... And then she came back and told me that it was still outstanding.").

At approximately 10:41 a.m., PPD Officers Barry Duggan and Andre Roberts were dispatched and notified that the Corolla with Washington plates had been reported stolen out of Washington. Roberts Decl. ¶ 8.2 At around 10:43 a.m., Dispatcher Krieger noted in the dispatch call report that EPD had confirmed the stolen vehicle report. Krieger Decl. ¶ 7; Hearing Ex. 2 at 1, 4; October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 36:24-37:3 ("Q: Stolen confirmed by Everett PD at 10:43:08, is that the same confirmation there that you've confirmed that it's your -- your entry right there at the exact same time? A: Yes."). The uniformed officers arrived at the scene approximately eight minutes later at 10:51 a.m., and observed a man, later identified as Defendant, in the front driver's seat of the Corolla. Roberts Decl. ¶ 9; Hearing Ex. 2 at 4; Duggan Decl. ¶ 7. The officers parked their patrol car about forty to fifty feet behind the Corolla and radioed the license plate number to dispatch, which confirmed that it had been reported stolen. Roberts Decl. ¶ 9; Duggan Decl. ¶ 8; October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 66:7-12 ("Q. So after you passed the Corolla, what did you do? A. I made a U-turn, parked approximately 40 feet behind and it and confirmed the license plate with the dispatcher. Q. And was that you who confirmed it with dispatch or -- or -- A. Yes.").

Officer Roberts approached the Corolla from the driver's side, and Officer Duggan approached the car from the passenger side. Roberts Decl. ¶ 11. As the officers approached the Corolla, they had their firearms drawn "at the low ready position." October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 92:16-23. Defendant was the only person in the car. Id. at 65:21-25. Officer Roberts ordered Defendant to place his hands on the steering wheel and not to reach for a knife that Officer Roberts observed on his left side, and Defendant complied. Declaration of Hanni M. Fakhoury (Dkt. No. 20-1, "Fakhoury Decl.") Ex. B at 00:50. When Defendant asked why he was stopped, Officer Roberts replied that the vehicle is "coming back stolen." Id. at 1:30. Defendant responded that he had a bill of sale. Id. at 1:35. Officer Roberts asked Defendant for his name and where he lived, and Defendant provided this information. Id. at 2:10. Officer Roberts then asked whether Defendant had anything illegal in the car, and Defendant eventually responded "Nope." Id. at 2:40. Officer Fernandez arrived and the officers removed Defendant from the vehicle and handcuffed him. Id. at 4:00.

The officers placed Allen in the back seat of the police car, and confirmed that the VIN number on the Corolla matched the VIN of the vehicle that had been reported stolen with dispatch. Roberts Decl. ¶¶ 19-20; Duggan Decl. ¶ 11; October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 119:25-120:4; October 28, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 155:7-156:3 Once the VIN match was confirmed, the officers placed Defendant under arrest. October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 74:19-75:1. The officers then decided that the vehicle would need to be towed to an impound lot because the vehicle was reported stolen out of Washington, and the owner would not be able to pick it from the scene within a reasonable time. Roberts Decl. ¶ 20; Duggan Decl. ¶¶ 15-16; October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 74:3-8 ("Because we knew that this vehicle was reported stolen out of Washington. That's not local. So registered owner likely wouldn't have been able to come and pick up the vehicle in a reasonable time.").

After confirming the VIN of the vehicle, the officers started a CHP 180 form. October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 73:21-24 ("Q. And what did you do next after confirming the VIN? A. Next from my memory, I had my cover officer, Officer Fernandez, start a CHP 180 form and also conducted a search on the vehicle."); Fakhoury Decl. Ex. B at 12:20. PPD policy provides that "Department members requesting towing, storage or impound of a vehicle shall complete CHP Form 180 and accurately record the mileage and a description of property within the vehicle ( Vehicle Code § 22850 )." Hearing Ex. 3 (Pinole Police Department Policy Manual) at § 502.2.1 (section titled "Vehicle Storage Report"). The CHP 180 form must be completed at the scene. Id. at § 502.3.3(b) (section titled "Towing Procedure"). Under PPD policy, "[a]ll property in a stored or impounded vehicle shall be inventoried and listed on the vehicle storage form," and "[m]embers conducting inventory searches should be as thorough and accurate as practical in preparing an itemized inventory." Id. at § 502.4 (section titled "Vehicle Inventory").

While Officer Fernandez began to fill out the CHP 180 form, Officer Roberts began to search the Corolla. October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 76:23-77:1. While searching the car, Officer Roberts found a black AR-15 style rifle underneath a jacket in the front passenger seat. Roberts Decl. ¶ 21; Fakhoury Decl. Ex. C; October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 110:23-111:2. The rifle was loaded with a 30-round high capacity magazine containing 5.56 mm ammunition, and taped to the magazine was another loaded 30-round high capacity magazine. Roberts Decl. ¶ 21. Officer Roberts continued to search the vehicle and found a third 30-round high capacity magazine in the trunk of the Corolla. Id. ; October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 111:11-20. Officer Fernandez provided the serial number of the rifle to dispatch and dispatch informed the officers that the rifle was reported stolen out of Washington. Roberts Decl. ¶ 21. Officer Roberts then told Defendant he was under arrest and that he had the right to remain silent and to an attorney. Fakhoury Decl. Ex. D at 3:50. Officer Roberts asked Defendant about the "stolen vehicle," and Defendant responded that he wanted an attorney. Id. at 4:00. The officers did not ask any further questions.

The officers transported Defendant to Martinez Detention Facility in the back of their patrol vehicle. Roberts Decl. ¶ 25. During the drive, Defendant was talking or mumbling to himself, and as the officers were arriving at the facility, Defendant said words to the effect that the officers should have conducted a traffic stop on him because it would have made his day "more eventful." October 26, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 86:16-18. Officer Roberts asked Defendant what he meant by this, and Defendant stated that if the officers had pulled him over, he would have "shot it out" with them. Id. at 87:9-10. After the officers and Defendant arrived at Martinez Detention Facility, Officer Duggan was waiting with Allen. October 28, 2020 Hr'g Tr. at 179:11-13. Officer Duggan "wanted to ask him what brought him to Pinole," id. at 167:10, and Defendant "said he had to pull over because he was tired on his drive." Id. at 167:19. Officer Duggan then asked Defendant "where he was driving to, and [Defendant] said he was driving from Washington to San Francisco." Id. at 167:22-23. Defendant also stated that "he was on his way to San Francisco to handle a thief stockbroker." Id. at 167:25-168:1. Officer Duggan continued to ask Defendant questions, and "asked [Defendant] who the stockbroker was and where the...

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