WILLIAM S. DUFFEY, Jr., District Judge.
This matter is before the Court on Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker's Report and Recommendation [70] ("R&R"), Defendant Jason Philpot's Objections to the R&R [73], and Defendant Patrick Bernard Reese's Objections to the R&R [75]. The R&R addressed Defendant Philpot's Motion to Suppress Evidence and Statements [37], Defendant Reese's Motion to Suppress Statements and the Fruits Thereof [26], and Defendant Reese's Motion to Suppress Defendant's Unlawful Arrest and the Fruits Thereof [41].
Defendants Philpot and Reese are charged with the Hobbs Act robbery of a Waffle House restaurant, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a) and (2) (Count One); possessing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to the Waffle House robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(C) (Counts Two and Three); and felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Counts Four and Five). The charges arise from the robbery of a Waffle House restaurant in Tucker, Georgia on September 30, 2014.
DeKalb Police Officer Lynn Anderson responded to the report of a robbery at the Waffle House restaurant at about 9:00 p.m. on September 30, 2014. The dispatcher described the robbery suspects as two black males. Officer Anderson responded to the dispatch. When he arrived at the Waffle House, a bystander standing across the street from the restaurant pointed to the westbound traffic near the intersection of Lavista Road and Northlake Road and said "that's the guys over there." The report Officer Anderson prepared of the events that night state that the bystander told him the suspects were in a van. At the evidentiary hearing on these motions, Officer Anderson said there were no vans and that when the bystander made his comments, he pointed and said the suspects were in a vehicle, noting there were no vans in the traffic.
Officer Anderson moved his marked police car to block the six to eight cars in the westbound lanes that were waiting for the red light to change. He also activated his emergency blue lights so that those in the waiting cars would know they were not to move their vehicles. Officer Anderson noticed two black males in a car and moved toward it. As he did, a Maroon Chevrolet Lumina moved around the car in front of it in the westbound lane and turned left at a fast speed. Officer Anderson got into his patrol car and, with blue lights flashing, chased the Lumina. He believed the men in the car were the Waffle House robbers. The Lumina went through a gas station, behind a Target store, and then up an exit ramp where it hit a curb and flipped. The driver and passenger got out of the car. The driver fired either a semi-automatic or a black rifle at Officer Anderson. The passenger pointed his weapon at Officer Anderson.
DeKalb County Police Officer Figueroa-Fred arrived at the scene and the driver and passenger fired at him. Officer Figueroa-Fred said one of the men from the car was dressed in black and the other in a striped shirt. The one with the striped shirt had a rifle and fired it at Officer Figueroa-Fred. Further gunfire was exchanged. The driver of the Lumina ran through a gas station and the passenger ran towards a rent-a-car store, then into the woods. Both were running toward an abandoned steakhouse.
Officer Anderson got back into his car to help set up a perimeter.
Officer Pitts then arrived also to help set up the perimeter. In doing so, he heard a noise in the bushes and called for backup. When backup arrived and heat sensing equipment showed a heat source in the bushes, Officer Pitts and other law enforcement officers identified themselves as police officers. The suspect dressed in black emerged from the bushes. This individual, later identified as Defendant Reese, was handcuffed and put in Officer Anderson's patrol car.
While in the police car, driving to the police station, Officer Anderson said to Defendant Reese: "you bogus for shooting at me, trying to take me from my family." Defendant Reese had not been read his
A K-9 picked up the scent of the other suspect, and later, officers received a report that a suspicious person was trying to break into a room at a nearby hotel. Police officers moved quickly to the hotel where they found a bald man wearing jeans and no shirt. He was detained and handcuffed.
After Defendant Reese was transported to the interrogation room at the DeKalb County Police Department, he was interviewed by DeKalb County Detective Chris Tappan. Detective Tappan asked Defendant Reese background questions about his girlfriend, to which Defendant Reese volunteered that "the money" did not have anything to do with his girlfriend. Detective Tappan responded: "Okay, that may be true. I mean we can, well I'll investigate whatever you tell me to." Defendant Reese replied: "I don't want to talk to nobody but the feds, man. I just got out the fed." Detective Tappan said: "You don't want to talk to anybody but the feds." Reese responded: "Yep." Detective Tappan asked Defendant Reese a series of biographical questions regarding his phone number, address, height, and weight. After these questions, Detective Tappan read Defendant Reese his
Defendant Philpot moved to suppress evidence and statements he made based on what he claims was an illegal detention at the roadblock just before the police chase.
Defendants Philpot and Reese object to the Magistrate Judge's finding that the roadblock detention was not illegal. Defendants argue that there were insufficient facts to support reasonable suspicion for blocking the westbound road lanes.
After conducting a careful and complete review of the findings and recommendations, a district judge may accept, reject, or modify a magistrate judge's report and recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Fed. R. Crim. P. 59;
The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. "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 this provision."
A search and seizure is allowed, however, where there is individualized suspicion of wrongdoing. A suspicionless seizure must be reasonable depending on the gravity of the public concerns served by the seizure, the degree to which the seizure advances the public interest, and the severity of the interference with individual liberty.
The question here is whether the stop of westbound traffic immediately after the Waffle House robbery violated Defendants' constitutional rights. The Court agrees with the Magistrate Judge that it did not. When the westbound traffic was halted, law enforcement personnel had critical information that justified the stop of the westbound lanes. First, they knew that an armed robbery had occurred at the Waffle House shortly before the traffic was stopped. Second, they knew that the suspects who had committed it had fled. Third, a bystander told Officer Anderson "that's the guys over there" pointing to the westbound traffic. Fourth, this combination of information indicated that public safety was at risk by the suspects fleeing from the area of the robbery.
The action Officer Anderson took was limited to stopping only the westbound traffic to conduct an immediate investigation to find the two suspects that a bystander said were in westbound traffic. The purpose of the roadblock was to apprehend dangerous suspects known to have committed an armed robbery just before Officer Anderson and other law enforcement officials arrived. The evidence supports that this roadblock detention was justified and was based on real, and reasonable, suspicion.
"[A] person questioned by law enforcement officers after being `taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way' must first `be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed.'"
Whether a person is in custody "depends on the objective circumstances of the interrogation, not on the subjective views harbored by either the interrogating officers or the person being questioned."
A person's right against self-incrimination while in custody or during a custodial interrogation requires that the suspect be given the warnings required in
Defendant Reese made two statements which he seeks to suppress: (1) those made to Officer Anderson in the police car during his transport to the DeKalb County Police Station; and, (2) those made by him during his interrogation by Detective Tappan at the police station.
The Magistrate Judge, in her R&R, found that the Government represented it does not intend to introduce the in-vehicle statements during its case-in chief. The Government might seek to introduce the statements, if at all, only to impeach statements Defendant Reese may make if he testifies at trial. Since the statement will not be introduced in the Government's case-in-chief, Defendant Reese's motion to suppress the statement as evidence in the Government's case-in-chief is denied as moot.
The remaining question is whether the police vehicle statements may be used to impeach Defendant Reese. A statement made in violation of
In view of the Government's representation that it does not intend to introduce Defendant Reese's in-vehicle statements unless necessary to impeach him, the Magistrate Judge recommended the Court deny the request of suppression for these statements. The Court, upon de novo review, finds no error in this finding and recommendation and Defendant Reese's objection to use of the police car statement is overruled as moot.
After Defendant Reese arrived at the DeKalb County Police Station, the Magistrate Judge found that Defendant Reese was not initially read his
The Magistrate Judge, relying on
The Magistrate Judge found that Defendant Reese invoked his right to remain silent when he stated he would only speak to the "feds" and that the Government failed to show that he reinitiated the conversation and waived his right to remain silent during further questioning. The Magistrate Judge recommended that Defendant Reese's motion to suppress the statements he made at the police station interrogation be granted. The Government did not object to these findings and recommendations and the Court finds no plain error in them.
For the reasons stated above,