HOWARD, Chief Judge.
Defendant-Appellant Carole Swan, former selectperson for the Town of Chelsea, Maine, appeals her convictions for Hobbs Act extortion, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), tax fraud, 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1), and making false statements to obtain federal worker's compensation, 18 U.S.C. § 1920. The sole issue raised on appeal is the district court's denial of a motion to suppress incriminating statements made during Swan's interview with two sheriff's deputies. Swan argues that suppression was required because her statements were obtained through a custodial interrogation without the benefit of a
The citizens of Chelsea, Maine (the "Town"), elected Swan to serve as a selectperson, and she held that position for nineteen years. During the course of her tenure, however, Swan came under investigation for allegedly using her public office to profit at the Town's expense. In early 2011, a deputy from the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office ("KCSO") met with Frank Monroe, a local businessman. Monroe told
After receiving this information, the KCSO set up a sting operation. Under the direction of the sheriff's office, Monroe submitted an inflated bill to the Town for the amount indicated by Swan. The invoice was subsequently approved and a check to Monroe was issued. On February 3, 2011, Swan collected the check from the Town and instructed Monroe to pick it up from the mailbox located at the end of her driveway. Monroe picked up the check, while being watched by two KCSO deputies, Lieutenant Ryan Reardon and Detective David Bucknam. Reardon and Bucknam then gave Monroe a bag of money, with directions to deliver it to Swan. Monroe met Swan and gave her the kickback. After accepting the funds, Swan drove to the parking lot of a nearby laundromat. The deputies followed Swan and parked behind her.
As Swan made her way towards the laundromat, the deputies stepped out of their vehicle and approached her. Reardon, displaying his badge, called out "Carole," and told her, "I want my money back." Swan responded that Monroe owed her money. Reardon reiterated that he wanted the money back. Swan returned to her vehicle, retrieved the bag of money, and handed it to Reardon. She asked whether she was in trouble. The deputies suggested that they discuss the issue at the sheriff's office, rather than in the parking lot. Swan assented and — accompanied by Bucknam — drove herself to the station. At some point during the encounter in the parking lot, Bucknam came into possession of Swan's phone.
At the sheriff's office, Swan met with Reardon and Bucknam in an interview room. The deputies assured Swan that she was "not under arrest," that she was free to leave "[a]t any point," and that it was "fine" if she did not "want to have [a] conversation" with them. Despite these assurances, Swan stayed and spoke with the deputies. The deputies initially maintained possession of Swan's cellphone. When Swan asked whether she could have the phone back, Bucknam told her that he would return it soon, explaining that he was only keeping the phone so that Swan would not get distracted. Shortly thereafter, Swan's phone rang and she reached for it, saying that it was her husband. Bucknam told Swan that he was "just gonna to hit the thing" and send the call "to voicemail." Swan responded, "All right."
Over the course of her hour-and-a-half conversation with deputies, Swan made numerous incriminating statements, including an admission that she had received approximately $25,000 in kickbacks. Towards the end of the interview, Swan told the deputies that she needed to call her husband. The officers returned her phone, offered to let her step outside to make the call, and, ultimately — when Swan opted to stay put — left the room. After speaking with her husband, Swan told the officers that they could come back in and resume the conversation. She retained her phone for the rest of the interview and, when it ended, thanked the officers.
A federal grand jury subsequently indicted Swan on multiple counts of Hobbs Act extortion, as well as tax fraud and making false statements to obtain federal worker's compensation. The district court severed the charges, allowing Swan to receive two separate jury trials: one for extortion and a second for the remaining counts.
Before trial, Swan moved to suppress the statements that she had made at the sheriff's office. Following an evidentiary hearing, a magistrate judge recommended denying Swan's motion, concluding that
Ultimately, Swan was convicted of three counts of Hobbs Act extortion, five counts of tax fraud, and two counts of making false statements to obtain federal worker's compensation. This timely appeal followed.
When considering the denial of a motion to suppress, "we review the district court's factual findings for clear error and its legal conclusions de novo."
The police are required to provide a
Here, Swan contends that she was in custody during her initial encounter with Reardon and Bucknam in the parking lot because, among other things, the deputies effectively trapped her in a relatively tight space, insisted on speaking with her at the sheriff's office, and accompanied her on the drive to that location. The magistrate judge's factual findings, however, undermine Swan's argument. The magistrate determined that the deputies merely suggested that Swan speak with them at the sheriff's office. It similarly found that Swan was not ordered to ride with Bucknam. Rather, this too was merely a suggestion to which Swan agreed. Swan's voluntary decision to meet at the stationhouse strongly suggests that she was not "in custody" for the purposes of
In any event, although we doubt that the district court's factual findings were clearly erroneous, it is unnecessary for us to decide whether the encounter in the parking lot was custodial. This is because, in conducting the
So too here. Even assuming that the confrontation in the parking lot was custodial, Swan was not entitled to a
We begin by emphasizing that, as in
Other evidence that the questioning was a custodial interrogation is also lacking. Turning to the relevant factors, we first consider the location of the interview. Swan met with the deputies at the sheriff's office behind closed doors. However, the deputies made it clear to Swan that she was free to leave and that the door was closed only for the sake of privacy. Without more, the mere fact that the questioning took place at the station does not render it custodial.
Next, "[t]he number of officers present... was not overwhelming, lending support to a finding that the questioning was non-custodial."
Similarly, Swan was not handcuffed or otherwise physically restrained at the sheriff's office.
Finally, the duration and character of the interview reinforce the conclusion that Swan was not in custody. Swan spent approximately ninety minutes at the sheriff's office. We have held that encounters of similar length are not necessarily custodial.
Swan, however, points out that the officers were in possession of her cellphone throughout much of the interview and claims that this fact renders the interaction custodial. But we do not find this fact to be determinative. Bucknam explained to Swan that the deputies would return her phone, but were holding it during the interview because they did not want her to get distracted. It is true that the deputies sent a call from Swan's husband to voicemail, but they did so only with her permission. And when Swan later told the deputies that she needed to call her husband, they not only allowed her to make the call but also left the room. In light of the facts considered as a whole, the officers' temporary possession of Swan's cellphone was not sufficient to trigger
In sum, after considering the relevant factors, we conclude that a reasonable person in Swan's position would have felt able to terminate the interview and leave the station. Accordingly, Swan was not subjected to a custodial interrogation, and it was unnecessary to provide her with
Swan's remaining claim that her confession was involuntary lacks merit. The previously discussed facts establish that the government's conduct did not overbear Swan's will. In short, "[t]he tone of the interview was cordial, its length was reasonable, and the defendant was not deprived of any essentials," all of which indicates "a lack of coercion ... [and] support[s] the district court's finding of voluntariness."
Swan primarily argues that her statements were involuntary because the deputies promised her leniency in exchange for her cooperation. This contention need not detain us long, as "[i]t is well settled in the First Circuit that an officer does not impermissibly overbear a defendant's will by promising to bring the defendant's cooperation to the prosecutor's attention or by suggesting that cooperation may lead to more favorable treatment."
For the foregoing reasons, we