Filed: Feb. 06, 2020
Latest Update: Feb. 06, 2020
Summary: MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S REPORT, RECOMMENDATION, AND ORDER RUSSELL G. VINEYARD , Magistrate Judge . Defendant Jay Diamond ("Diamond") is charged in a two-count superseding indictment with falsely assuming and pretending to be an officer and employee of the United States and acting as such in an attempt to avoid receiving a traffic citation for speeding and to avoid being arrested for falsely impersonating a federal officer during a traffic stop, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 912. [Doc. 37]. 1 Dia
Summary: MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S REPORT, RECOMMENDATION, AND ORDER RUSSELL G. VINEYARD , Magistrate Judge . Defendant Jay Diamond ("Diamond") is charged in a two-count superseding indictment with falsely assuming and pretending to be an officer and employee of the United States and acting as such in an attempt to avoid receiving a traffic citation for speeding and to avoid being arrested for falsely impersonating a federal officer during a traffic stop, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 912. [Doc. 37]. 1 Diam..
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MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S REPORT, RECOMMENDATION, AND ORDER
RUSSELL G. VINEYARD, Magistrate Judge.
Defendant Jay Diamond ("Diamond") is charged in a two-count superseding indictment with falsely assuming and pretending to be an officer and employee of the United States and acting as such in an attempt to avoid receiving a traffic citation for speeding and to avoid being arrested for falsely impersonating a federal officer during a traffic stop, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 912. [Doc. 37].1 Diamond has filed a motion to exclude or suppress statements he made to law enforcement upon his arrest, [Doc. 16], and the Court conducted an evidentiary hearing on the motion on November 19, 2019, see [Doc. 48].2 After the evidentiary hearing, the parties filed post-hearing briefs, [Docs. 51 & 52], in which Diamond argues for suppression of particular statements that the government asserts it does not intend to use at trial. For the reasons that follow, it is RECOMMENDED that the pending motion, [Doc. 16], be DENIED as MOOT.
Diamond moves to suppress and exclude from trial certain statements he made following his arrest by deputies of the Troup County Sheriff's Office at the scene of a traffic stop on August 23, 2018, and two statements he made to federal law enforcement agents following his arrest upon the warrant issued when the original indictment was returned in this case. See [Doc. 51]. Specifically, in his post-hearing brief, Diamond seeks to suppress statements he made on August 23, 2018, from the point when he was arrested by Troup County Deputy Baker to the point when Troup County Deputy Richardson read him his Miranda3 rights,4 [id. at 5-7], as well as the following two statements he made after being arrested on May 1, 2019, to Homeland Security Office of Inspector General Special Agents Jerry Coleman and Edward Kleppinger at the sally port of the Atlanta Detention Center: (1) "You never read me my Miranda rights" and (2) "No, I've probably already said enough," [id. at 2-5].5 In its post-hearing brief, the government does not concede that any of the statements were the product of interrogation or obtained in violation of Miranda, but asserts that it does not intend to present the challenged statements to the jury as evidence, and therefore, Diamond's motion should be denied as moot. See [Doc. 52].6 Since the government will not be presenting the challenged statements during its case-in-chief at trial, Diamond's motion to suppress and exclude these statements is moot, and it is RECOMMENDED that the pending motion, [Doc. 16], be DENIED as MOOT. See United States v. Campbell, Criminal Action No. 1:17-CR-00207-CAP-CMS-3, 2018 WL 5619388, at *1 (N.D. Ga. Oct. 30, 2018).
There are no other motions pending before the Magistrate Judge, and the undersigned is aware of no problems relating to the scheduling of the trial. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED and ADJUDGED that this action be, and the same is hereby, declared CERTIFIED READY FOR TRIAL.
IT IS SO RECOMMENDED and ORDERED.
