Carter v. Three Unknown Police Officers of the Wilmington Police Department

619 F. Supp. 1253, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15226
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedOctober 4, 1985
DocketCiv. A. No. 81-228 LON
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 619 F. Supp. 1253 (Carter v. Three Unknown Police Officers of the Wilmington Police Department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. Three Unknown Police Officers of the Wilmington Police Department, 619 F. Supp. 1253, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15226 (D. Del. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

LONGOBARDI, District Judge.

Plaintiff Richard Carter brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and monetary damages. The Defendants are the City of Wilmington, Delaware and three members of the Wilmington Police Department as well as an officer of the Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Investigation Division. Judge Latchum previously granted summary judgment for Defendants on Plaintiff’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief. Docket Item (“D.I.”) 47. Currently before the Court are cross-motions for summary judgment filed by Carter and the Wilmington Defendants on Carter’s claim for monetary damages.

BACKGROUND

The police activities which led to Plaintiff’s complaint were related to the investigation into the murder of Clarence Humphrey Womack. On February 17, 1981, Chester, Pennsylvania police found Wom-ack’s body in a van parked on a street in Chester. On February 18, 1981, Carter entered Levy's Pawn Shop in Wilmington, Delaware and attempted to sell forty-one gold rings. The manager suspected that the rings might have been stolen and he called the Wilmington police. Officers Martin P. Hageman and George J. Crowley, two of the Defendants in this action, responded to the manager’s call. They informed Carter that they had come because the owner suspected the rings were stolen and they began to question Carter about his identity and reasons for being in Wilmington. Carter told the officers that he was from Pennsylvania1 and that he had come to Wilmington to sell the rings because the price of gold was higher in Wilmington. The officers then asked Carter where he obtained the rings and he answered that he purchased some of them from customers at a fast food restaurant at which he was employed.

Officers Hageman and Crowley were not satisfied with Carter’s answers and they informed him that he would be detained pursuant to 11 Del. C. § 1902. Section 1902 permits a police officer to “stop any person ... who he has reasonable ground to suspect is committing, has committed or is about to commit a crime____” If the person fails to identify himself or explain his actions to the satisfaction of the police officer, he may be further detained for up to two hours.

Carter was taken to Wilmington police headquarters where he was told his Miranda rights and informed that he was suspected of attempting to sell stolen goods. Carter had given Hageman and Crowley two pieces of identification, one of which was a bank card which showed an address in Chester. Detective James Kelly of the Wilmington Police Department, the third Wilmington Defendant in this action, called the Chester Police Department and was informed that Carter was wanted by the Chester police in connection with a homicide investigation. In response to Kelly’s phone call, Detective Daniel Iacona2 of the Chester Police Department and Detec[1256]*1256tive Randolph Martin3 of Delaware County, Pennsylvania came to Wilmington police headquarters with Womack’s widow and her brother. Mrs. Womack recognized the rings which Carter had attempted to sell as having been the property of her husband. Carter then told police that he had purchased the rings from Womack. He was arrested by the Wilmington police for possession of stolen property.

At the time of his arrest, Carter was staying at the Radisson Hotel in Wilmington. Carter told police that he had to check out of the hotel by one o’clock. He was then taken by Kelly and Martin to the Radisson to check out and pick up his belongings. Carter was again told his Miranda rights and informed that any additional evidence found in the room would be used against him. The parties disagree about whether Carter consented to the search of his hotel room. The Defendants claim that Carter told them he had nothing to hide and that they were free to search his hotel room. D.I. 134, p. 12. Carter says that he told the officers he had nothing to hide but he denies consenting to the search. Deposition of Richard Carter, D.I. 125, pp. 44-45.

Kelly and Martin then searched Carter’s hotel room. They found a hypodermic syringe, possession of which is a violation of 16 Del.C. § 4757, and two small vials containing a light amber liquid. Here again, the parties differ as to what transpired. Kelly claims that he suspected that the vials contained drugs and that a field test of the vials indicated they contained methamphetamine, the possession of which is criminal under Delaware law. Formal laboratory tests later revealed that the vials did not contain any controlled substance. D.I. 134-A, p. A-45.

Carter’s version of the events is somewhat different. He contends that after the hypodermic syringe was found the officers offered to throw it away if Carter agreed to go back to Chester voluntarily. Carter Deposition, D.I. 125, p. 46. When he refused, Carter asserts that the officers fraudulently claimed that the vials contained a controlled substance when they knew that the vials contained musk oil. Carter maintains that the Defendants brought the drug charges in bad faith to coerce him into going back to Chester.

Carter was charged by the Delaware authorities with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a hypodermic syringe and receipt of stolen property and he was held for twelve days at the Delaware Correctional Center before being released on bail. Carter was indicted on the hypodermic syringe and stolen property charges. D.I. 134-A, p. A-44. The methamphetamine charges were dropped when the laboratory tests revealed that the vials seized from Carter did not contain a controlled substance.

Subsequently, Carter was arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with the murder of Clarence Womack. The Delaware authorities entered a nolle prosequi on the Delaware charges because of Carter’s arrest on far more serious charges in Pennsylvania. D.I. 134-A, p. A-46.

Following a preliminary hearing, Carter was held for trial in Pennsylvania on charges of murder, robbery, theft by receipt of stolen property and related charges. D.I. 134-A, p. A-12. Prior to trial, Carter moved to suppress all evidence arising out of his Delaware detention and arrest. The motion was denied by Judge Levy of the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. Commw. v. Carter, No. 5904-81 (Ct. of C.P. of Delaware County, April 15, 1982).

At a jury trial, Carter was acquitted of murder and robbery but convicted of receipt of stolen property and was sentenced to jail. He then moved for reconsideration of his sentence claiming, inter alia, that the court erred in not suppressing the evidence obtained from his Delaware detention and arrest. Judge Levy denied the motion for reconsideration. Commw. v. Carter, No. 5904-81 (Ct. of C.P. of Delaware County, March 18, 1983).

[1257]*1257In his opinion Judge Levy considered the validity of Carter’s arrest under both Delaware law and the United States Constitution. Judge Levy found that the officers had reasonable grounds to suspect that Carter was involved in criminal activity based on the statement by the pawn shop owner that the rings may have been stolen, the officers’ observations that the rings were all new, Carter’s inability to explain possession of so many rings and the conflict between Carter’s statement that he lived in Philadelphia and the Chester address on his identification card.

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619 F. Supp. 1253, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-three-unknown-police-officers-of-the-wilmington-police-department-ded-1985.