CHRISTOPHER C. CONNER, District Judge.
Presently before the court is a motion (Doc. 61) to suppress evidence filed by defendants Alcide Fraguela-Casanova ("Fraguela") and Juan Carlos Almaguer ("Almaguer"). Fraguela and Almaguer contend that Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Manueal DeLeon ("Corporal DeLeon") violated their Fourth Amendments rights by unlawfully seizing them on October 25, 2010. For the following reasons, the court will grant the motion.
On October 25, 2010, at approximately 11:20 a.m., Corporal DeLeon observed a vehicle driving in reverse on an entrance ramp at the Interstate 81 interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. (Sept. Hr'g Tr. at 5-6). Corporal DeLeon exited his squad car to resolve the traffic hazard and witnessed a tractor-trailer almost collide with the vehicle driving in reverse. (Id. at 6). Corporal DeLeon testified that tractor-trailer's driver did not in any way acknowledge his presence and that he observed a man hunched over in the passenger's seat.
Corporal DeLeon decided to follow the tractor-trailer. (Id.) Corporal DeLeon witnessed the tractor-trailer improperly change lanes without using its turn signal. (Id.) At approximately 11:25 a.m., Corporal
At 11:37 a.m., Corporal DeLeon returned to his vehicle and reviewed Almaguer's and Fraguela's documents. (Vid. R. at 11:37). Corporal DeLeon noticed that Almaguer's logbook did not document how he arrived in Kentucky, where Almaguer claimed to have picked up the trailer. (Sept. Hr'g Tr. at 14-15). Corporal DeLeon found it suspicious that the bill of lading only listed the load "general merchandise," contained a distorted bar code and was not signed by either the shipper or the driver/carrier.
During the stop, Corporal DeLeon prepared a written warning for Almaguer for improper lane change and Fraguela's missing logbook. (Gov't Ex. 3). Corporal DeLeon testified that he handled the traffic stop and written warning "relatively quickly."
At 12:09 a.m., Corporal DeLeon ran a warrant check on Fraguela through the National Crime Center Information ("NCIC") database from his squad car. (Dec. Hr'g Tr. at 12, 21-22); (Fraguela-Casanova Ex. 3). At 12:10 a.m., the system returned a "hit" on Fraguela. (Dec. Hr'g Tr. at 12-13); (Fraguela-Casanova Ex. 3). The "hit" was a "probation or supervised release status record" from Miami Probation and Parole which indicated Fraguela had recently been placed on parole in Miami, Florida.
At 12:27 p.m., Corporal DeLeon spoke with Corporal Brown about Almaguer and Fraguela. (Vid. R. at 12:27-12:28). After speaking to Corporal Brown, Corporal DeLeon stated "that we are now waiting for a response back from Florida" and discussed Almaguer's and Fraguela's "rap sheets" (i.e. criminal histories). (Id. at 12:28-12:30). At 12:40 p.m., Corporal DeLeon again spoke to Corporal Brown. (Vid. R. at 12:40).
On November 17, 2010, a federal grand jury sitting in the Middle District of Pennsylvania returned a three-count Indictment charging Almaguer and Fraguela with (1) conspiracy to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce and conspiracy to transport contraband cigarettes in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; (2) transportation of contraband cigarettes in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2342(a); and (3) interstate transportation of stolen goods in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314. (Doc. 18). Almaguer and Fraguela pled not guilty to all counts. (Docs. 28, 32). Almaguer filed the instant motion (Doc. 61) to suppress evidence on May 6, 2011. On August 28, 2011, Fraguela filed an unopposed motion (Doc. 87) for leave to join and adopt Almaguer's motion to suppress evidence. The court granted Fraguela's motion on August 29, 2011. (Doc. 88). The court conducted an evidentiary hearing on September 1, 2011. On December 13, 2011, the court conducted a supplemental evidentiary hearing.
The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides:
Almaguer and Fraguela contend that Corporal DeLeon did not have probable cause or reasonable suspicion to stop the tractor-trailer on October 25, 2010. When an officer has probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe that a traffic violation has occurred, the officer may stop the vehicle. Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 810, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996); United States v. Delfin-Colina, 464 F.3d 392, 396 (3d Cir. 2006). For Fourth Amendment purposes, a traffic stop is a seizure of both the driver and any occupants of a vehicle. Brendlin v. California, 551 U.S. 249, 257, 127 S.Ct. 2400, 168 L.Ed.2d 132 (2007); Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979).
In the instant case, Corporal DeLeon testified credibly that he initiated the stop after he personally observed the tractor-trailer change lanes without signaling in violation of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code. (Sept. Hr'g Tr. at 8). See 75 PA. CON. STAT. § 3334. Almaguer and Fraguela argue that Corporal DeLeon could not have personally observed an improper lane change because Corporal DeLeon was assisting another motorist at the Interstate 81 interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and that the proffered reason was a "mere pretext." (See Doc. 69, at 4). Corporal DeLeon testified, however, that he witnessed the improper lane change after he resolved the incident with the other motorist. (Sept. Hr'g Tr. at 8).
Corporal DeLeon's subjective motivation for stopping the tractor-trailer is irrelevant. In Whren, the Supreme Court held that "[s]ubjective intentions play no role in ordinary, probable-cause Fourth Amendment analysis" and noted that "the fact that the officer does not have the state of mind which is hypothecated by the reasons which provide the legal justification for the officer's action does not invalidate the action taken as long as the circumstances, viewed objectively, justify that action." 517 U.S. at 813, 116 S.Ct. 1769 (quotations and citations omitted). Based upon the record before it, the court finds that Corporal DeLeon had probable cause to initiate the traffic stop.
Almaguer and Fraguela assert that Corporal DeLeon did not have reasonable suspicion to detain them after effectuating the purpose of the initial traffic stop. If a police officer develops "a reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity," after a lawful traffic stop, then the police officer "may expand the scope of an inquiry beyond the reason for the stop and
In the case sub judice, the court concludes that the totality of the circumstances provided Corporal DeLeon with reasonable suspicion to detain Almaguer and Fraguela for further investigation.
Almaguer and Fraguela argue that Corporal DeLeon improperly asked for documentation unrelated to the traffic stop including Almaguer's and Fraguela's logbooks and the bill of lading prior to acquiring reasonable suspicion. The court finds that in a highly regulated industry such as interstate trucking, police officers are permitted to request both drivers and passengers for bills of lading and other items related to the operation of a truck as part of an ordinary traffic stop. See, e.g., United States v. Pauyo, 341 Fed.Appx. 955, 956 (5th Cir.2009); United States v. Rodriguez-Alejandro, 664 F.Supp.2d 1320, 1337 (N.D.Ga.2009).
Almaguer also argues that Corporal DeLeon's affidavit of probable cause failed to include several key facts that — according to his testimony at the suppression hearing — contributed to his reasonable suspicion. This argument is unavailing. The factual basis of Corporal DeLeon's probable cause to arrest Almaguer is an inquiry wholly distinct from the factual basis of Corporal DeLeon's reasonable suspicion to detain Almaguer for investigatory purposes. Accordingly, the court concludes that Corporal DeLeon had articulable reasonable suspicion to detain Almaguer and Fraguela, and, thereafter, to employ investigatory techniques likely to confirm or dispel his suspicions with appropriate dispatch. See United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675, 686, 105 S.Ct. 1568, 84 L.Ed.2d 605 (1985).
Almaguer and Fraguela argue that the length and scope of the stop violated their Fourth Amendment rights. A law enforcement official may conduct a brief investigatory stop if they have "reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot," but police officers must have probable cause to justify longer and more intrusive detentions. Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 685, 105 S.Ct. 1568. Terry does not permit police officers to detain suspects indefinitely to complete an investigation. Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 212, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979); United States v. Leal, 235 Fed. Appx. 937, 940 (3d Cir.2007). The United States has the burden of proving that Almaguer's and Fraguela's seizure "was sufficiently limited in scope and duration to satisfy the conditions of an investigative seizure." Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983);
The Third Circuit has aptly noted that "[t]he line between a proper Terry stop and an improper de facto arrest is elusive and not easily drawn." Id. at 940 (citing Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 685, 105 S.Ct. 1568). The Supreme Court has refused to impose a rigid, bright-line time limitation on Terry stops. Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 685, 105 S.Ct. 1568 ("[I]n evaluating whether an investigative detention is unreasonable, common sense and ordinary human experience must govern over rigid criteria."); United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 709 n. 10, 103 S.Ct. 2637, 77 L.Ed.2d 110 (1983). To determine whether a stop is "so minimally intrusive as to be justifiable on reasonable suspicion" courts must consider a number of factors including: (1) the duration of the stop; (2) the purposes justifying the investigatory detention; (3) whether the police acted diligently to confirm or dispel their suspicions; and (4) any reasonable alternatives the police could have employed to serve their purposes. Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 684-87, 105 S.Ct. 1568; Leal, 235 Fed.Appx. at 941. In Sharpe, the Supreme Court cautioned that courts "should not indulge in unrealistic second-guessing" and noted that "[a] creative judge engaged in post hoc evaluation of police conduct can almost always imagine some alternative means by which the objectives of the police might have been accomplished." Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 686-97, 105 S.Ct. 1568 (citations omitted) (emphasis in original). Nonetheless, courts must ensure that police officers employ investigative methods that allow them "to verify or dispel the officer's suspicion in a short period of time." Royer, 460 U.S. at 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319 (citations omitted).
In United States v. Leal, a police officer lawfully stopped defendant Robert Leal's automobile for a traffic violation at approximately 1:30 p.m. on February 2, 2004.
Although the line between a Terry stop and an improper de facto arrest is often difficult to pinpoint, it is a line that courts must draw in furtherance of the principles underlying the Fourth Amendment. The court cannot divorce Terry stops from their underlying rationale. In Terry, the Supreme Court declared that a Terry stop is "wholly different kind of intrusion upon individual freedom" and therefore may be justified on the basis of reasonable suspicion. 392 U.S. at 26, 88 S.Ct. 1868. To protect important Fourth Amendment interests, the Supreme Court has circumscribed Terry stops to brief seizures designed to allow police to diligently employ investigative methods in order to quickly verify or dispel their suspicions.
The United States has failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that Almaguer's and Fraguela's hour and thirty four minute detention, purportedly justified on the basis of reasonable suspicion, "was sufficiently limited in scope and duration to satisfy conditions of investigative seizure." See Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. at 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319. Almaguer orally consented to a search of his "truck" at 12:59 p.m., ninety-four minutes after Corporal DeLeon initiated the traffic stop at 11:25 a.m. (Vid. R. at 11:25-12:59). After initiating the traffic stop, Corporal DeLeon collected various documents from Almaguer and Fraguela. At 11:37 a.m., Corporal DeLeon returned to his squad car where he remained with Almaguer's and Fraguela's documents for seventy-four minutes. This seventy-four minute delay is unjustifiable because Corporal DeLeon failed to diligently pursue "a means of investigation that was likely to confirm or dispel" his suspicions quickly. Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 687, 105 S.Ct. 1568; Royer, 460 U.S. at 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319.
Upon returning to his squad car at 11:37 a.m., Corporal DeLeon reviewed Almaguer's and Frageula's documents which consisted of Almaguer's and Fraguela's commercial driver's licenses, medical cards, the bill lading (a one page form), and Almaguer's logbook (three pages). Corporal DeLeon's testimony reveals that he finished examining the documents within the first half and hour of the stop (11:25 a.m.-11:55 a.m.) prior to initiating criminal history, warrant, and driver's license checks, and that he prepared Almaguer's written warning "relatively quickly."
At the September evidentiary hearing, Corporal DeLeon appeared to attribute the delay in his investigation primarily to the necessity of verifying Fraguela's NCIC "hit." Corporal DeLeon testified that Almaguer would have been free to leave twenty-five minutes prior to when he orally consented to the search:
(Sept. Hr'g Tr. at 106-07). Counsel for Almaguer and Fraguela cross-examined Corporal DeLeon on this testimony at the December supplemental evidentiary hearing and Corporal DeLeon responded by stating "Mr. Almaguer was being detained because of the stop. There was (sic) a whole lot of issues with the stop." (Dec. Hr'g Tr. at 34). Corporal DeLeon testified that he needed to discuss certain issues with Almaguer and ask for his consent to search, but conspicuously absent from the record is any rational reason for his delay in undertaking these tasks. (Id. at 34-35). That Fraguela's alleged "wanted" status caused considerable delay is suggested by the videotape when Corporal DeLeon explains (at 12:28 p.m.): "we are now waiting for a response back from Florida ... to see if they are going to extradite." (Vid. R. at 12:28).
Fraguela's NCIC "hit" cannot justify the hour and thirty four minute detention. At 12:09 p.m., Corporal DeLeon ran a warrant check on Fraguela. (Fraguela-Casanova Ex. 3). At 12:10 p.m., a "hit" displayed on Corporal DeLeon's computer unambiguously showing only that Fraguela was on probation. (Fraguela-Casanova
The United States attributes the majority of the delay to Corporal DeLeon's retrieval and review of the criminal history records of Almaguer and Fraguela.
The court finds that Corporal DeLeon acted dilatorily by pursuing tangential information unrelated to the apparent objective of the investigatory detention — verifying or dispelling whether Almaguer and Fraguela were transporting illegal materials. At most, the criminal history of a detainee may provide information about the type of criminal activity afoot or contribute to an officer's development of reasonable, articulable suspicion. However, exhaustive, state-by-state criminal checks do precious little to advance the investigatory
In the case sub judice, the record underscores that Corporal DeLeon conducted a fishing expedition unrelated to verifying or dispelling his suspicion of criminal activity afoot. Corporal DeLeon testified:
(Sept. Hr'g Tr. at 112-13 (emphasis added)). After retrieving and reviewing Almaguer's and Fraguela's criminal records, Corporal DeLeon sought to further question Almaguer and to request consent to search. The hour and thirty four minute detention in this case is distinguishable from other cases in which extended detentions were directly caused by unexpected developments in investigatory methods otherwise expected to quickly verify or dispel the officer's suspicions.
Moreover, the court finds that Corporal DeLeon neglected to take appropriate action to minimize the delay. In United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 698, 103 S.Ct. 2637, 77 L.Ed.2d 110 (1983), the defendant, Raymond Place ("Place"), aroused police officers' suspicions in the Miami International Airport. The officers had reasonable suspicion to suspect Place's luggage contained narcotics. Id. The officers allowed Place to board his flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York, but notified Drug Enforcement Administration authorities in New York about their suspicions. Id. Two DEA agents awaited Place's arrival at LaGuardia Airport and seized his luggage. Id. The agents transported the luggage to Kennedy Airport to subject the luggage to a dog sniff, resulting in a ninety minute seizure. Id. The Supreme Court held that the ninety minute detention of Place's luggage exceeded the limits prescribed in Terry. Id. at 709-10, 103 S.Ct. 2637. The Place court reasoned that the officers failed to minimize the intrusion on Place's Fourth Amendment rights by neglecting to arrange for a K-9 in advance of Place's arrival at an airport. Id. at 709, 103 S.Ct. 2637. Similarly, in the instant case, Corporal
The United States also failed to adduce specific testimony to account for Corporal DeLeon's time on the vast majority of the stop. With the exception of the first half hour of the stop, Corporal DeLeon's testimony, at best, provides only conclusory explanations for the delay. (See, e.g., Dec. Hr'g Tr. at 37-38). Corporal DeLeon requested assistance from Corporal Brown in running Almaguer's criminal history at 11:52 a.m., twenty-seven minutes after initiating the traffic stop. (Vid. R. at 11:52). Corporal DeLeon remained in his squad car with Fraguela's and Almaguer's documents for another fifty-nine minutes. The United States argues, without citation to the record, that Corporal DeLeon "was slowed due to multiple hits for each Defendant that he was required to sort through."
For the ordinary citizen, a traffic stop is the most common encounter with law enforcement. See South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364, 368, 96 S.Ct. 3092, 49 L.Ed.2d 1000 (1976) (stating that traffic stops are an "everyday occurrence"); Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408, 419, 117 S.Ct. 882, 137 L.Ed.2d 41 (1997) (Stevens, J., dissenting) (noting that Maryland alone had over one million traffic stops between 1994 and 1995); United States v. Mosley, 454 F.3d 249, 268-69 (3d Cir.2006). Police officers may initiate a traffic stop for any technical violation of a traffic code and may expand the scope of their inquiry on the basis reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity. See Mosley, 454 F.3d at 252. That many innocent travelers are subjected to Terry stops on this nation's roads and highways is undisputed. Without appropriate limits, such as those articulated in the instant memorandum, officers could invoke Terry and detain innocent travelers indefinitely to retrieve and to scrutinize criminal records. Extended detentions of this nature significantly interfere with travelers' legitimate privacy interests, with de minimis corresponding benefits to law enforcement. Quite simply, a state-by-state criminal history records check is not an investigative method consonant with quickly verifying or dispelling
For all these reasons, the court concludes that Corporal DeLeon's ninety-four minute detention of Almaguer and Fraguela ran afoul of the parameters prescribed by Terry and constituted a de facto arrest.
Subject to a number of exceptions, the exclusionary rule "mandates that evidence derived from constitutional violations may not be used at trial because illegally derived evidence is considered `fruit of the poisonous tree.'" United States v. Pelullo, 173 F.3d 131, 136 (3d Cir.1999) (citation omitted). The exclusionary rule applies only when the evidence derives directly from the constitutional violation. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 487-88, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963). In other words, a defendant must demonstrate a casual "but for" connection between the challenged evidence and the constitutional violation. Mosley, 454 F.3d at 253.
In the instant action, Almaguer and Fraguela seek to suppress as the fruit of an unlawful seizure: (1) the cigarettes and other physical items seized from the tractor-trailer and (2) the oral and written statements obtained by police after their illegal seizure.
The more difficult question is whether Fraguela — the passenger of the tractor-trailer — may suppress the evidence discovered in the trailer and any subsequent statements to law enforcement as the fruit of the illegal seizure. "Fourth Amendment rights are personal rights which .... may not be asserted vicariously." Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 134, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978). Fraguela has not alleged that he has standing to contest the search of the trailer. Rakas, 439 U.S. at 128, 99 S.Ct. 421 ("[A] person aggrieved by an illegal search and seizure only through the introduction of damaging evidence secured by a search of a third person's premises or property has not had any of his Fourth Amendment rights infringed."). Thus, the court must determine whether the evidence found in the trailer was casually linked to the illegal seizure of Fraguela, the passenger.
The majority of circuits, including the Third Circuit, have held that passengers may suppress evidence discovered in a vehicle after an unlawful traffic stop. See, e.g., Mosley, 454 F.3d at 269; United States v. Chanthasouxat, 342 F.3d 1271 (11th Cir.2003); United States v. Reed, 349 F.3d 457 (7th Cir.2003); United States v. Guevara-Martinez, 262 F.3d 751 (8th Cir. 2001); United States v. Twilley, 222 F.3d 1092 (9th Cir.2000); United States v. Kimball, 25 F.3d 1 (1st Cir.1994). More precisely, the majority of courts do not distinguish the passenger from the driver in analyzing whether evidence seized from
The Ninth and Tenth Circuits — over heated dissents — applied a "heightened" factual nexus test to passengers illegally detained after an initially lawful traffic stop. United States v. DeLuca, 269 F.3d 1128 (10th Cir.2001); United States v. Pulliam, 405 F.3d 782 (9th Cir.2005). These circuits distinguish the seizures of the driver, vehicle, and any occupants in analyzing whether evidence seized from a unlawfully detained vehicle was casually linked to the constitutional violation.
In DeLuca and Pulliam, police officers unlawfully detained passengers in a vehicle after a lawful traffic stop. Pulliam, 405 F.3d at 785; DeLuca, 269 F.3d at 1131. Neither passenger had a possessory or property interest in the vehicle. Pulliam, 405 F.3d at 786; DeLuca, 269 F.3d at 1132. The DeLuca and Pulliam courts differentiated the illegal detentions of (1) the driver; (2) passenger; and (3) the vehicle itself. Pulliam, 405 F.3d at 789; DeLuca, 269 F.3d at 1132-33. The Ninth Circuit panel explained, "[w]e may not amalgamate the separate police actions of detaining the car, detaining each of its occupants, and searching the car, merely because they occurred in close proximity." Pulliam, 405 F.3d at 789 (emphasis added). The courts held that each occupant of a vehicle must demonstrate that the police would not have discovered the evidence but for their own illegal detention. Pulliam, 405 F.3d at 787; DeLuca, 269 F.3d at 1132. Both courts denied the passengers' motions to suppress finding the passengers' presence irrelevant to the subsequent discovery of evidence in the vehicle. Pulliam, 405 F.3d at 787; DeLuca, 269 F.3d at 1132.
The Ninth Circuit panel employed a hypothetical to illustrate its reasoning:
Pulliam, 405 F.3d at 791. The Ninth Circuit stated that the passenger could have demonstrated a factual nexus between his own illegal detention and the subsequent discovery of evidence in a vehicle by showing: (1) if he had requested permission to leave the scene (in the vehicle) he would have been able to do so; or (2) his statements or evidence found on his person prompted the search of the vehicle. Id. at 787.
The dissenting judges in Pulliam and DeLuca flatly rejected the heightened factual test.
In Mosley, the Third Circuit explicitly, albeit in dicta, declared: "We will not be overly coy, though: we recognize that the rationale for our holding might be thought to undermine the DeLuca rationale even on DeLuca facts." 454 F.3d at 255-56 n. 11. The Mosley court found that a traffic stop is a "single act, which affects equally all occupants of a vehicle" comporting "with the commonsense experience of everyone who has ever ridden in a car." Id. at 267. Hence, the Third Circuit incontrovertibly rejected the heightened factual nexus test. Mosley, 454 F.3d at 267.
The Mosley court fully appreciated that the seizure of the driver and the vehicle is likely the only "but for" cause of the discovery of evidence in the vehicle. Id. at 258-59. In the vast majority of cases, the presence of the passenger is simply irrelevant to the subsequent discovery of evidence. Nonetheless, the Third Circuit panel refused to distinguish the passenger from the driver. Mosley's commonsense reasoning applies with equal vigor to cases involving passengers, such as defendant
Indeed, in the instant action the totality of the record establishes that Corporal DeLeon made a single decision to detain Almaguer, Fraguela, and the tractor-trailer. Both Fraguela and Almaguer contributed to Corporal DeLeon's reasonable suspicion. See supra Section III.B. At the suppression hearing, Corporal DeLeon made clear that he continued to detain both Almaguer and Fraguela because of "all things going on" with the stop. (Dec. Hr'g Tr. at 34, 36). To separate Corporal DeLeon's single decision to detain the vehicle and its occupants into three discrete, independent, detentions misrepresents what actually occurred in the instant matter. When the record squarely demonstrates that the officer made a single unconstitutional decision to unlawfully detain all occupants of the vehicle after an lawful traffic stop, Mosley's reasoning is directly applicable. There is "a single act, which affects equally all occupants of a vehicle." Mosley, 454 F.3d at 267.
For these reasons, the court rejects the heightened factual nexus test used in Pulliam and DeLuca. The court concludes that both Almaguer and Fraguela have adequately demonstrated a casual connection between the "primary illegality" — Corporal DeLeon's single decision to unlawfully detain them without probable cause beyond the limits prescribed in Terry — and the discovery of evidence in the trailer and their subsequent oral and written statements to law enforcement.
The United States has not argued in its briefs or at either of the evidentiary hearings that any of the traditional exceptions to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, such as attenuation, inevitable discovery, or independent source, are applicable.
The court cannot abdicate its role in enforcing constitutional safeguards in deference to legitimate law enforcement objectives. As the Supreme Court duly observed, "[t]he needs of law enforcement stand in constant tension with the Constitution's protections of the individual against certain exercises of official power. It is precisely the predictability of these pressures that counsels a resolute loyalty to constitutional safeguards." Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266, 273, 93 S.Ct. 2535, 37 L.Ed.2d 596 (1973). Based on the forgoing discussion, the court finds that the length and scope of the Corporal DeLeon's traffic stop and subsequent investigatory detention constituted a de facto arrest without probable cause. The motion to suppress evidence is therefore granted.
An appropriate order follows.
AND NOW, this 12th day of March, 2012, upon consideration of the motion (Doc. 61) to suppress filed by defendants Alcide Fraguela-Casanova and Juan Carlos Almaguer, and for the reasons stated in the accompanying memorandum it is hereby ORDERED that the motion (Doc. 61) to suppress is GRANTED.
Assuming arguendo that the United States did not waive the attenuation exception to the Wong Sun rule, the court would nonetheless suppress the evidence. Almaguer orally consented to a search of his "truck" at 12:59 p.m., ninety-four minutes after the initial stop and in the midst of a de facto arrest. (See Vid. R. at 12:59). Corporal DeLeon then provided Almaguer with a preprinted written consent form. (Id. at 12:59-1:03). Presumably, had the United States raised the issue, it would have asserted that the written consent form purged the taint of illegality for Fourth Amendment purposes. The court concludes that the written consent form fails to demonstrate sufficient attenuation to casually disconnect the consent from the de facto arrest. The inherently coercive nature of an hour and thirty-four minute detention irreversibly taints a subsequent consent to search. Under the circumstances, Almaguer experienced immense pressure to fully cooperate with Corporal DeLeon in order to terminate the seemingly interminable stop.
