CONTI, District Judge.
Pending before the court are a supplemental motion to suppress evidence (ECF No. 94), a motion for discovery with respect to the telephone number used by the confidential informant ("CI") in the present case (ECF No. 95), and a renewed motion for a hearing
On June 28, 2011, defendant submitted an omnibus pretrial filing. (ECF No. 37.) That filing contained: (a) a motion to suppress the drugs and shotgun which were found in the search of Wade's residence; (b) a motion to suppress several confessions made by Wade; (c) a motion for early disclosure of Jencks materials; (d) a motion for early disclosure of Brady materials; (e) a motion for disclosure and exclusion of any evidence of defendant's prior bad acts; (f) a motion for a court order requiring law enforcement agents to retain all rough notes and writings relating to Wade's case; (g) a motion to reveal the identity of the CI who assisted in Wade's investigation; and (h) a motion for leave to file a supplement to defendant's pretrial motions. (Id.) Defendant concurrently filed a brief in support of those motions. (ECF No. 38.)
On September 19, 2011, Wade filed a supplemental pretrial motion requesting disclosure of the identity of the CI used to arrange the controlled buy which ultimately resulted in his arrest. (ECF No. 48.) The supplemental motion requested the CI's telephone number as a purported alternative to disclosing his identity. (Id.) On September 19, 2011, the government filed responses to defendant's pretrial motions. (ECF Nos. 47 & 50.)
On September 20, 2011, the court held a hearing on Wade's pretrial motions. The court denied without prejudice as moot defendant's motion for early disclosure of Jencks material. The court denied without prejudice as moot defendant's motion for early disclosure of Brady material. The court granted in part and denied in part Wade's motion to disclose and exclude uncharged misconduct evidence. The
At the continued hearing held on November 22, 2011, the court heard arguments and testimony regarding (a) the motion to suppress Wade's confessions and the fruits thereof, the only issue remaining from Wade's omnibus pretrial filing (ECF No. 37), and (b) the motion for a Franks hearing. (ECF No. 57.) The court set an additional hearing on the motions, which was ultimately held on January 9, 2012. At the conclusion of the January 9, 2012 hearing, the court ordered the parties to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law on the two remaining matters. The parties submitted their proposed findings and conclusions on February 24, 2012. On March 26, 2012, the court issued its memorandum opinion and order, in which it denied defendant's motions to suppress and for a Franks hearing. (ECF No. 75.)
Following appointment of new counsel, defendant filed the present motions on September 20, 2012, renewing his motion to suppress evidence and statements obtained as a result of an allegedly illegal search and seizure, and his motion for discovery.
During the four evidentiary hearings on these motions, the court heard testimony from the following government witnesses: (a) Officer William Churilla ("Churilla"); (b) Officer Kevin Merkel ("Merkel"); (c) Officer David Lincoln ("Lincoln"); and (d) Officer William Kelsch ("Kelsch"), all of whom are employed by the Pittsburgh Police Department. Defendant testified. He called the following defense witnesses: (a) Ronald Getner ("Getner"), a private investigator hired to assist in his defense; (b) Kenneth Bush ("Bush"), an acquaintance of defendant whose cell phone was used to place several telephone calls to Wade on the day of the controlled buy; (c) William Smith ("Smith"), a friend of defendant who called Wade on the telephone on the day of the controlled buy; (d) Shaniqua Johnson ("Johnson"), who was a passenger in Wade's car when it was pulled over by the police; and (e) Douglas Sughrue ("Sughrue"), defendant's former defense attorney.
1. Information obtained from a CI was used in connection with the arrest of defendant. (Hr'g Tr. Sept. 20, 2011 ("September 2011 Transcript") (ECF No. 58) at 50.)
On December 24, 2009, Churilla and other Pittsburgh police officers detained the CI for attempting to sell baby powder to police officers. (Id. at 52.) The CI attempted to pass off the baby powder as an illegal drug. (Id.) The CI agreed to provide information to police in exchange for their not filing charges against him for his attempted sale of sham drugs. (Id. at 52-53.) He told police he knew about a person selling drugs in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Id. at 53.) The CI did not know the real name of the drug dealer in Lawrenceville. (Id. at 54.) He knew the man by the street name of "Spider." (Id.) The investigation led to Wade and his home at 3828 Penn Avenue in Lawrenceville ("Wade's residence" or the "residence"). (Id.) Police believed that defendant was selling drugs from his residence. (Id.)
3. On January 27, 2010, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Churilla and Merkel met the CI in anticipation of arranging for the CI to buy crack cocaine from Wade. (Id. at 57, 90.) They searched the CI to ensure that he did not have any contraband or money. (Id.) The CI used his cell phone to call Wade. (Id. at 57-58.) The CI arranged to buy a "fifty piece" of crack cocaine in exchange for fifty dollars. (Id. at 59.) After the phone call, Merkel left to set up surveillance on Wade's residence. (Id. at 59-60.) When he arrived at approximately 6:45 p.m., he contacted Churilla to let him know that he was in position, with an unobstructed view of the residence. (Id. at 59-60, 132.) Before Churilla and the CI left the police station, the CI was searched again. (Id.) Churilla drove the CI to within walking distance of Wade's residence, and let him out of the car. (Id. at 60.) He gave the CI fifty dollars as he was leaving the car. (Id.)
4. Churilla telephoned Merkel to inform him that the CI was on his way to Wade's residence. (Id. at 60, 132.) The officers remained on the phone with each other. (Id. at 133.) Churilla watched the CI walk toward the residence until Merkel could see the CI. (Id. at 60.) Merkel had binoculars, but did not need to use them because he was situated approximately twenty-five feet from the front door of Wade's residence. (Id. at 132.) The CI did not stop to talk to anyone. (Id. at 60.) The CI was within the sight of at least one of the officers from the moment he exited Churilla's car to the moment he arrived back to meet Churilla after the drug purchase. (Id. at 60, 133.)
6. The next morning, on January 28, 2010, a warrant authorizing the search of Wade's residence was signed. (Id. at 69.)
7. The search warrant described the premises to be searched as follows:
(Jan. 28, 2010 Search Warrant (ECF No. 49-1) at 1.)
8. The affidavit in support of the application for the search warrant contained the following averments:
(Id. at 2-3.)
9. On January 27, 2010, between 6:30 p.m. (the approximate time Merkel and Churilla first met the CI to arrange the
10. Bush testified that he knew Wade, and that one of the phone numbers associated with multiple of Wade's incoming calls during the relevant thirty-minute time period had belonged to him in January 2010. (Hr'g Tr. Nov. 22, 2011 ("November 2011 Transcript") (ECF No. 66) at 49-50.) Bush denied being the CI. (Id. at 51.) Bush did not recall placing any telephone calls to Wade in January 2010, but believed he may have dialed the number by accident. (Id. at 56-57.) He also remembered losing his phone for a few days in January 2010. (Id. at 65.) Nine of the thirty-one incoming phone calls during the relevant period are attributable to the phone number used by Bush. (Ex. A.)
11. Smith testified that one of the numbers on the call records belonged to him in January 2010, that he did not allow anyone else to use his phone, and that he was not the CI. (November 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 66) at 69-71.) Four of the thirty-one incoming calls during the relevant period are attributable to the phone number used by Smith. (Ex. A.)
12. Getner testified that he conducted an investigation of the remaining numbers and concluded that three of the numbers on defendant's call records for the relevant time period on January 27, 2010 were associated with landlines as opposed to cellular telephones. (November 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 66) at 73, 75.) Collectively, the three landline numbers account for nine of the thirty-one incoming calls made during the relevant time period. (Ex. A.)
13. Getner could not identify the owner of six of the relevant phone numbers, accounting for nine total incoming phone calls during the relevant time period. (November 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 66) at 73-76; Ex. A.) A person or persons made the following calls to Wade's phone number on January 27, 2010; the content of the calls remain unknown:
From Number Time Answered? Duration (412) 584-9815 ("Caller A") 6:35:32 p.m. Yes four seconds (412) 425-2645 ("Caller B") 6:36:12 p.m. Yes seventy seconds (412) 812-5042 ("Caller C") 6:37:35 p.m. Yes twenty-three seconds (412) 377-7377 ("Caller D") 6:39:19 p.m. No5 five seconds (412) 277-4364 ("Caller E") 6:40:44 p.m. Yes nine seconds Caller D 6:45:07 p.m. No four seconds Caller D 6:46:14 p.m. No three seconds (412) 583-6258 ("Caller F") 6:51:30 p.m. No three seconds Caller D 6:51:53 p.m. No twenty seconds
14. Sughrue, who represented Wade during the September, November, and January 2012 motions hearings, testified that he ran into Churilla at city court after Sughrue was terminated as Wade's counsel. (Hr'g Tr. January 18, 2013 ("January 2013 Transcript") (ECF No. 110) at 5.)
15. The city court, where the two met, was loud and busy. (Id. at 8.) During the meeting, Churilla stated that he was upset
16. The two also discussed the CI's phone number, and Sughrue came away from the conversation with the impression that Churilla possessed the number used by the CI to call Wade on January 27, 3010. (Id. at 6-7.) If true, Sughrue believed that the information would contradict statements made by a former Assistant United States Attorney to the court indicating that the government does not possess the CI's phone number. (Id. at 7.) Sughrue acknowledged, however, that it may have been a miscommunication and Churilla may have meant that he still knew the identity of the CI. (Id. at 9.) Churilla testified that he told Sughrue that he did not have the CI's phone number, and even if he did, he would not give it to Sughrue unless required to do so by the court. (Id. at 13-15.) Churilla testified at the January 18, 2013 hearing that he does not possess currently the phone number used by the CI to contact Wade on January 27, 2010. (Id. at 13.) Churilla testified that he does not know if the phone number used by the CI to call Wade was the same phone number that Churilla once had stored in his cell phone. (Id. at 21.) Churilla does not know if the phone number that he had for the CI was for a landline or cell phone. (Id. at 17.)
17. On the afternoon of January 28, 2010 (the same day the warrant was signed), the police executed the search warrant on Wade's residence. (September 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 58) at 69.)
18. Just before execution of the warrant, Lincoln was traveling in an unmarked police car when he observed Wade travelling in another car. (November 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 66) at 11.) Wade at that time was approximately two miles from his residence. (Id.) Although the car in which Wade was travelling belonged to him, he was not driving, but was sitting in the front passenger seat. (Id. at 10-11.) Knowing that other police officers were on their way to execute a search warrant at Wade's residence, Lincoln and his partner, Officer Martin ("Martin"), began to follow Wade's vehicle in their unmarked police car. (Id. at 11.) When it became apparent that Wade was heading toward the neighborhood in which he lived, Lincoln contacted Churilla. (Id. at 11-12.) Churilla told Lincoln to stop the vehicle and detain Wade before they executed the search warrant. (Id. at 12.) Churilla believed that "based on [Wade's] propensity for violence ..., it was for the safety of [Wade] and also for us that [Wade] be detained prior to the execution of the search warrant." (September 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 58) at 69.) Wade was detained for the purpose of keeping him away from the residence during the search. (Id. at 100.) Churilla was afraid Wade might arrive at the residence while officers were conducting the search. (Id.)
19. Lincoln and Martin activated the lights and siren on their unmarked vehicle. (November 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 66) at 11-12.) The female driver of Wade's vehicle stopped the car on the side of Herron Avenue, between Bryn Mawr Road and Webster Avenue. (Id.) The location is approximately 1.3 miles (driving distance) away from Wade's residence. (ECF No. 123-3 at 1.)
20. At 3:36 p.m. (September 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 58) at 99, 154), Lincoln and Martin approached the vehicle and ordered the occupants to show their hands. (November 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 66) at 12.) The car had three occupants: (a) defendant in the front passenger seat; (b)
21. Lincoln testified that defendant was allowed to stand on the sidewalk, without handcuffs, while the officers pretended to check his license for active warrants. (Id. at 16.) Lincoln wanted to delay Wade and to keep him relaxed. (Id. at 15-16.) Wade, on the other hand, testified that he was ordered to his knees after he was searched, and that he was immediately cuffed with a plastic zip tie. (September 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 58) at 143-47.) Johnson testified that defendant was handcuffed and walked to the rear of the car where he was searched. (Hr'g Tr. Jan. 9, 2012 ("January 2012 Transcript") (ECF No. 70) at 7-14.)
22. Wade had no memory of the officers pretending to check for warrants and testified that he never asked why he was pulled over or held. (September 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 58) at 151-53.)
23. Johnson was initially told to remain in the vehicle. (January 2012 Transcript (ECF No. 70) at 13-14.)
24. Approximately five minutes later, (id. at 8), a female police officer arrived to search Johnson and the other female occupant of the car. (November 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 66) at 16.) Johnson was ordered out of the car; she was handcuffed and searched, and she could see that defendant was handcuffed at that point.
25. Meanwhile, at 3:51 p.m., after defendant had been detained on Herron Avenue, Churilla and other police officers executed the search warrant at Wade's residence. (September 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 58) 97-98.) After knocking and announcing, the officers waited approximately one minute before forcing their way into the residence. (Id.) Upon entry, they conducted a security sweep of the residence, which lasted approximately two minutes; during the initial sweep, police officers located two baggies of suspected marijuana in plain view on a dresser in a first floor bedroom. (Id. at 72, 97.) After finding the marijuana, Churilla radioed Lincoln, telling him to arrest Wade. (Id. at 72-73.) Lincoln arrested Wade, who was then transported to the police station by another police unit. (November 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 66) at 19.)
26. During the traffic stop, Wade was detained for between fifteen and twenty minutes. (September 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 58) at 73, 98.) Wade was not questioned and did not make any statements during that time. (Id. at 72.)
27. After radioing for Wade's arrest, Churilla and other officers continued the search of Wade's residence. (Id. at 76.) In the kitchen of the residence, officers found plastic sandwich bags from which
28. After the search was completed, Churilla returned to the police station where defendant was detained. (Id. at 79.) Churilla and Lincoln took Wade into the back office. (Id.) They offered Wade an opportunity to use the restroom or have some food or drink. (Id.) They gave Wade a soda. (Id.) They read Wade his Miranda rights, which he understood. (Id.) Wade signed a Miranda rights form, indicating that he understood his rights and was willing to speak to police without the presence of an attorney. (Id.) Wade admitted to selling crack cocaine from his residence. (Id.) He denied that the shotgun found at the residence belonged to him — he stated that it belonged to another person, whom Wade had permitted to stay at the residence and to sell crack from the residence. (Id. at 80.) Wade provided a written statement and a taped statement, both of which detailed how he sold crack cocaine from the residence. (Id. at 81.) He admitted that his phone number was the same number used by the CI the day before to arrange the controlled buy. (Id.) The parties agree that defendant was advised of his Miranda rights on at least two occasions on January 28, 2010.
1. Under Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 155-56, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978), when a warrant is obtained based upon a false statement made in a supporting affidavit, the fruits of the search warrant must be excluded if the remaining material, following the excision of the falsity, is independently insufficient to support a finding of probable cause. If the falsity is based upon an omission rather than a misstatement of facts, the court must remove the falsehood by supplying the omitted information to the original affidavit, and subsequently determining if the affidavit with the added information contains sufficient probable cause. Sherwood v. Mulvihill, 113 F.3d 396, 401 (3d Cir. 1997).
In order to obtain a Franks hearing, defendant must first make a "substantial preliminary showing" that (a) the affidavit contained a false statement, which
3. To determine whether deficiencies in the affidavit are "material," the court must follow the following procedure:
Id. at 384 (quoting Sherwood, 113 F.3d at 400). If probable cause still exists after the affidavit has been "corrected," then the deficiencies are not material. Id.
4. To make a substantial preliminary showing, defendant must present more than conclusory statements or arguments. Yusuf, 461 F.3d at 383 n. 8 ("In order to make this preliminary showing, the defendant cannot rest on mere conclusory allegations or a `mere desire to cross-examine,' but rather must present an offer of proof contradicting the affidavit, including materials such as sworn affidavits or otherwise reliable statements from witnesses."); United States v. Heilman, 377 Fed.Appx. 157, 177 (3d Cir.2010). In Heilman, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit outlined that requirement:
Id. (citations omitted).
5. Here, defendant argues that police manufactured nearly the entirety of the affidavit in support of the January 28, 2010 warrant to search Wade's residence.
6. The alleged falsity, if proven, would be material. Excising all information about the CI and the controlled buy leaves only a brief summary of the law enforcement experience of Merkel and Churilla and the criminal history of defendant. That information would not be sufficient to establish probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant. "Probable cause exists when `there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.'" United States v. Grubbs, 547 U.S. 90, 96, 126 S.Ct. 1494, 164 L.Ed.2d 195 (2006) (quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983)). Probable cause determinations require the magistrate judge to make a "practical, common-sense decision." Gates, 462 U.S. at 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317.
7. Defendant did not, however, make a sufficient preliminary showing that the affidavit contained a false statement. He is, therefore, not entitled to a Franks hearing, and the court must deny the motion. In its previous opinion, the court already considered and rejected several scenarios set forth by defendant that he alleged could justify a Franks hearing. (ECF No. 75 at 16-18.) The court will not readdress those arguments. With respect to new evidence and argument, defendant presented no evidence to contradict any of the averments made in the application for the warrant. His attempt to eliminate the potential callers (and by process of elimination present testimony that no CI called defendant at the appropriate time) failed.
8. Defendant's most recent attempts to identify the other callers were made ex parte and did not allow the government an opportunity to respond to the proffered allegations. To that end, the allegations will not be considered by the court. Defendant also argues that it is "unlikely" that the call from Bush's phone number came from the CI. (ECF No. 123 at 15.) In making this argument, defendant asks the court essentially to disregard the very real possibility that someone known to Bush (who turned out to be the CI) came into possession of Bush's phone and made the calls in question to Wade. This scenario is particularly compelling in light of Bush's testimony that he did not recall calling Wade during January 2010 — even though his phone was used to call Wade several times on the night of January 27, 2010 — and that he lost his phone during that time period. Defendant's arguments in this respect amount to nothing more than conclusory allegations which do not constitute a "substantial showing" that would warrant a Franks hearing. Yusuf, 461 F.3d at 383 n. 8.
9. Churilla's testimony at the January 18, 2013 evidentiary hearing also confirmed that the government is not in possession of the CI's telephone number, thus defendant cannot rely upon a comparison between Wade's phone records and the number allegedly possessed by the government. Even if the number were available and did not match Wade's phone records, the evidence would not be conclusive because the CI could have used a different phone when contacting Wade on January 27, 2010.
10. The same conclusion defeats defendant's request for an in camera inspection of the case files to determine whether the CI's number can be found therein. As the court acknowledged at the hearing, even if a number were found in the file, and the number did not match any of the numbers during the relevant timeframe, the possibility exists that the CI used a different
11. With respect to defendant's argument that the record does not support a finding that a single person called once to arrange the buy with Wade and again in response to Wade's instruction to "hit me up when you get here," it is nothing more than speculation. Merkel testified that he believed the CI made that second phone call, but could not be sure. It is entirely possible that the CI could have knocked on Wade's front door, rang the doorbell, sent a text message, or Wade simply could have seen the CI through one of the windows on the front of the house.
12. None of this additional argument constitutes a substantial preliminary showing that the affidavit contained a false statement which was material to the finding of probable cause.
13. Because the burden is on defendant, and because Wade failed to present any evidence beyond speculation and conclusory allegations to show that any specific statement made in the affidavit was false, the court must deny the motion for a Franks hearing. Defendant failed to meet this initial burden.
14. Defendant contends that the stop of his car on January 28, 2010 was made without justification and that his subsequent detention was unlawful. Defendant contends that the statements he made while detained were the product of his unlawful detention and should, therefore, be suppressed. Defendant argues that the recent Supreme Court decision in Bailey v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 133 S.Ct. 1031, 185 L.Ed.2d 19 (2013), constitutes supervening new law that renders the initial stop of Wade's car and his detention illegal.
15. The government responds that even if the initial stop and detention was illegal under the Supreme Court ruling in Bailey, substantial intervening events removed the illegal taint of the initial stop.
16. The court previously held that the stop of Wade's vehicle was justified pursuant to the rule established in Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 101 S.Ct. 2587, 69 L.Ed.2d 340 (1981), and its progeny. (ECF No. 75 at 18-22.) In Summers, the Supreme Court held that the temporary, pre-arrest detainment of a suspect during the execution of a warrant to search his home was a "seizure" under the Fourth Amendment, but that such a seizure was reasonable in order to detain the subject, prevent flight, avoid violence during the search, and to aid in the search, and it is a less intrusive infringement of rights than an arrest. Id. at 695, 701-04, 101 S.Ct. 2587.
17. In Bailey, the Supreme Court explicitly limited the Summers rule by concluding that "[t]he categorical authority to detain incident to the execution of a search warrant must be limited to the immediate vicinity of the premises to be searched." Bailey, 133 S.Ct. at 1041 (emphasis added). In supporting its conclusion, the Court acknowledged that "[w]here officers arrest an individual away from his home... there is an additional level of intrusiveness. A public detention, even if merely incident to a search, will resemble a full-fledged arrest." Id. The defendant in Bailey had left the premises to be searched (his home) and was detained approximately one mile away. Id. at 1036.
18. Although defendant in the present case was returning to his home and not driving away, as was the case in Bailey, the government appears to concede that the strict "spatial constraint" imposed in
19. The government argues that even if the original stop and detention of Wade was illegal, significant intervening events erased the illegal taint and rendered Wade's subsequent statements voluntary. Defendant relies upon the holding of the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in United States v. Watson, 703 F.3d 684 (4th Cir.2013), to argue that the intervening events in the present case are not sufficient to render Wade's statement admissible. The court previously concluded that, even if Wade's initial stop and detention were illegal, it would still be compelled to deny the motion to suppress because his confessions would not be the fruit of the poisonous tree. (ECF No. 75 at 22-24.) Defendant's new arguments do not alter that conclusion.
20. "[T]he exclusionary rule reaches not only primary evidence obtained
21. In Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 218, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979), the Supreme Court held that a confession given by the defendant, after he was seized without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment and taken to the police station for questioning in an attempt to uproot evidence, was inadmissible where no intervening event broke the connection between his illegal detention and his confession. A violation of Fourth Amendment rights may occur even when the defendant is mirandized following the illegal seizure. Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590, 603-04, 95 S.Ct. 2254, 45 L.Ed.2d 416 (1975). A confession made following an illegal arrest is subject to the Wong Sun "fruit of the poisonous tree" analysis notwithstanding proper adherence to Miranda procedures by the police. Id. at 602-03, 95 S.Ct. 2254. To be admitted, the statement must be "`sufficiently an act of free will to purge the primary taint.'" Id. at 602, 95 S.Ct. 2254 (quoting Wong Sun, 371 U.S. at 486, 83 S.Ct. 407). The Miranda warnings are a factor to be taken into consideration when determining whether the confession was obtained through the exploitation of a Fourth Amendment violation. Id. at 603, 95 S.Ct. 2254. The Miranda warnings are not the only factor to be considered; rather, "[t]he temporal proximity of the arrest and the confession, the presence of intervening circumstances, and, particularly, the purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct are all relevant." Id. at 603-04, 95 S.Ct. 2254. The burden of showing admissibility rests on the prosecution. Id. at 604, 95 S.Ct. 2254.
22. With respect to the "purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct" prong of the Brown test, defendant argues that Churilla incorrectly informed Lincoln that there was a "body warrant" for Wade, and that he made the statement to effectuate the detention "so that the police could then attempt to obtain an incriminating statement." (ECF No. 123 at 11.) Defendant makes no attempt to support this statement, which is directly contradicted by the evidence of record. No attempt was made to question Wade until after the marijuana was found in his residence and he was taken to the police station. Churilla testified that the stop was effectuated based upon Wade's propensity for violence in an effort to maintain the safety of both Wade and the officers executing the search warrant. (September 2011 Transcript (ECF No. 58) at 69.) The stop was only effectuated once it became apparent that the car containing Wade was proceeding in the direction of his home. Defendant's speculation in support of his argument is insufficient to show flagrant official misconduct.
23. With respect to the temporal proximity element, Wade argues that the defendant in Watson was detained for three hours, which he contends is the same amount of time that Wade was held at the police station in the present case. (ECF No. 123 at 12.) Defendant relies upon language in Watson acknowledging that "the very nature of [a] prolonged detention was inherently coercive." Watson, 703 F.3d at 697. The detention in the present case, however, is distinguishable from that in Watson because Wade was only detained illegally for only fifteen or twenty minutes before he was arrested based upon evidence obtained during the lawful search of his house.
24. In Watson, the defendant (Watson) was present in a building that was under surveillance by police, but he was not observed engaging in any illegal activity. Id. at 697-98. Officers entered the building, encountered Watson, and ordered him to stay put while they obtained a search warrant. Id. Watson was "restrained ... continuously for three hours in the same location... as part of an uninterrupted course of events, during which `there was no intervening event of significance whatsoever.'" Id. This illegal detention occurred before officers secured a warrant and took his statement. Id. The court concluded that Watson had been illegally seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment because the police lacked probable cause to detain him. Id. at 693-94. The court also concluded that the district court erred in not suppressing Watson's statements under the analysis set forth in Brown. Id. at 697-98. In rendering that determination, the court noted that the "`temporal proximity' factor weigh[ed] strongly in Watson's favor because he was not freed from the officers' custody at any point between his initial seizure and the time he made his incriminating statement." Id. at 697. The court also relied upon "the record fail[ing] to show that there were any `intervening circumstances' attenuating the illegal arrest from Watson's statement." Id.
25. Defendant mischaracterizes Watson by equating the lengthy illegal detention in that case with the legal detention in the present case. Wade's illegal detention was of limited duration — fifteen to twenty minutes — as distinguishable from the "continuous" three hours "in the same location" in Watson. Wade was lawfully arrested based upon probable cause because officers found contraband at his home pursuant to the valid search warrant. Unlike Watson, defendant was removed from the location where he was arrested and was taken to the police station where he was legally detained for approximately three hours following his arrest; which, to the extent it is relevant, is distinguishable from the three-hour illegal detention in Watson.
26. Notably, the court in Watson did not rely upon the length of time that Watson was detained when engaging in the Brown analysis. The temporal proximity between the illegal arrest and Watson's statement was not broken by any intervening event, since the defendant "was not freed from ... custody" between the illegal arrest and the statement. As discussed below, the intervening events during
27. With respect to the Miranda rights element set forth in Brown, defendant emphasizes that Watson and Wade were both advised of their Miranda rights twice, yet the court in Watson found that the Watson's statements should have been suppressed. (ECF No. 123 at 12.) Defendant again misreads Watson, however, because that court considered that Miranda warnings were given, but determined that they were given while the defendant was being illegally detained and no intervening events occurred. Watson, 703 F.3d at 697. Although the court in Watson ultimately granted the defendant's suppression motion, the facts in Watson are quite different from the facts in this case and the giving of the Miranda warnings is still a factor that may be considered. Brown, 422 U.S. at 603, 95 S.Ct. 2254.
28. As noted, the facts of Watson are less favorable than those in the present case insofar as the Miranda warnings in that case were given during the illegal detention, not after a valid arrest. See Watson, 703 F.3d at 688 (first set of warnings given as soon as officers instructed defendant to "sit down," and second set given "[w]hen [a detective] returned to the building with the search warrant"). While it is true that Miranda rights are not a "`cure-all'" for admitting statements obtained as a result of an illegal seizure, Brown, 422 U.S. at 602, 95 S.Ct. 2254, the fact that Wade was advised of his rights at least twice, including a written waiver, after he was lawfully arrested on the basis of probable cause, weighs in favor of finding that his statements are admissible.
29. The significant intervening events in the present case further distinguish the facts of Watson and break the causal chain following Wade's illegal detention. As discussed above, there are substantial intervening events in the present case: the police executed a warrant at defendant's residence, the police discovered an abundance of highly incriminating evidence relating to defendant's illegal activity, the police lawfully arrested defendant for possession of marijuana,
31. Defendant argues that his statements were not voluntarily given and as such are not admissible because the use of the "ruse" overbore his will.
32. Police misrepresentations "do not necessarily make a confession involuntary; rather, this is simply one factor to consider out of the totality of the circumstances." United States v. Velasquez, 885 F.2d 1076, 1088 (3d Cir.1989). A defendant challenging the voluntariness of a confession must establish "the essential link between coercive activity [by the police], on the one hand, and a resulting confession by a defendant, on the other." Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 165, 107 S.Ct. 515, 93 L.Ed.2d 473 (1986).
33. Defendant cites several decisions indicating that, in certain circumstances, police misrepresentations can result in involuntary statements, particularly where the misrepresentations involve promises or assurances made to the suspect to coerce or deceive the suspect into making the statement. See e.g. Hopkins v. Cockrell, 325 F.3d 579, 584-85 (5th Cir.2003). In Hopkins, however, the court found that portions of a confession may have been involuntary in a situation where the interviewing detective (who was an old friend of the suspect) assured the suspect that they were "friends," that the conversation was "confidential," and that it was just between the two of them. Id. at 584. At the time those assurances were made, the suspect had been subjected to "being in isolation for fifteen days, being interviewed eight previous times, [and] being interviewed a ninth time by someone [the suspect] considered a `close friend.'" Id. Defendant's reliance upon United States v. Lall, 607 F.3d 1277, 1287 (11th Cir.2010), and United States v. Rogers, 906 F.2d 189, 191 (5th Cir.1990), are equally unavailing insofar as both cases involved affirmative promises of non-prosecution made by officers, which undermined the voluntariness of the suspect's Miranda waivers. Defendant adduces
34. The situation in the present case falls far short of the decisions cited by defendant, as exemplified by the distinguishable facts in Hopkins. No promises were made, defendant was briefly illegally detained for fifteen to twenty minutes, and defendant was unable to even remember the alleged "ruse" when he testified at the suppression hearing. In light of this last fact, defendant is unable to establish the necessary causal connection between the ruse and his confession, which took place several hours later, after he was lawfully arrested and twice waived his Miranda rights. There is simply no connection between the alleged ruse and the confession, and no evidence adduced by defendant indicates that his will was overborne by Lincoln's statements. Defendant's confession will not be suppressed.
AND NOW, this 9th day of July, 2013, upon consideration of the parties' filings, the arguments made by counsel at the suppression hearings held on September 20, 2011, November 22, 2011, January 9, 2012, and January 18, 2013, and the testimony of witnesses and the evidence introduced at those hearings, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, in accordance with the findings of fact and conclusions of law filed herewith, defendant's supplemental motion to suppress (ECF No. 94), supplemental motion for discovery (ECF No. 95), and renewed motion for a Franks hearing are DENIED. It is FURTHER ORDERED that, to the extent defendant seeks an in camera inspection of the case file for the CI, that motion is DENIED.