United States v. Andino

343 F. App'x 714
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedAugust 28, 2009
DocketNo. 08-0783-cr
StatusPublished

This text of 343 F. App'x 714 (United States v. Andino) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Andino, 343 F. App'x 714 (2d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

We assume the parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts, the procedural history, and the issues on appeal.

Rodriguez-Nieves brings six challenges in this appeal. He argues that the district court erred by:

(1) Failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing on his motion to suppress;
(2) Concluding that his arrest was based on probable cause;
(3) Failing to suppress (as fruit of the poisonous tree) evidence seized following the unlawful arrest;
(4) Violating the ban on double jeopardy;
(5) Finding the evidence sufficient as to Count Four; and
[716]*716(6) Denying him due process by allowing the government to introduce evidence of narcotics violations not mentioned in the indictment in support of the continuing criminal enterprise charge.

[1] Rodriguez-Nieves argues that, without a suppression hearing, he was unable to test the “reliability, accuracy and staleness” of the affidavit information which formed the basis of his arrest.

The Court reviews a denial of a request for a suppression hearing for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Levy, 377 F.3d 259, 264 (2d Cir.2004). An evidentia-ry hearing on a motion to suppress is ordinarily required “if the moving papers are sufficiently definite, specific, detailed, and nonconjectural to enable the court to conclude that contested issues of fact going to the validity of the search are in question.” United States v. Pena, 961 F.2d 333, 339 (2d Cir.1992) (internal quotation marks omitted).

The district court’s ruling was well within its discretion. Rodriguez-Nieves never clearly asked for such a hearing and argued instead that suppression was warranted because the uncontested facts in the relevant affidavit did not support probable cause to justify a warrantless arrest (a legal question, not a factual one). And Rodriguez-Nieves never submitted a sworn affidavit contesting any facts in the government’s affidavit.

[2] Rodriguez-Nieves argues that his arrest was effected without probable cause. We review the district court’s determination of probable cause de novo, but we must “take care both to review findings of historical fact only for clear error and to give due weight to inferences drawn from those facts” by the district judge and law enforcement officers. Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 699, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996).

Probable cause exists “if the law enforcement official, on the basis of the totality of the circumstances, has sufficient knowledge or reasonably trustworthy information to justify a person of reasonable caution in believing that an offense has been or is being committed by the person to be arrested.” United States v. Patrick, 899 F.2d 169, 171 (2d Cir.1990). We review the totality of the circumstances. United States v. Delossantos, 536 F.3d 155, 161 (2d Cir.2008). In that review, “[t]he fact that an innocent explanation may be consistent with the facts alleged ... does not negate probable cause.” United States v. Fama, 758 F.2d 834, 838 (2d Cir.1985).

In this case, the district court concluded (as follows) that, on the basis of the totality of the circumstances, the police had probable cause to arrest Rodriguez-Nieves:

We have the identification of Mr. Rodriguez as responsible for distributing great quantities of drugs picked up in Queens and delivered to various locations around the Bronx from several sources. We know that there were undercover purchases from members of Mr. Rodriguez’s group in the Bronx. We know that there were undercover law enforcement buys. The officer saw Mr. Rodriguez driving toward Queens; saw him later in the Bronx with an individual who came out of the building with an object in his hands, got into the ear, and as the officers approached they observed Mr. Rodriguez attempting to discard his cell phone.

We agree that these facts were sufficient to establish probable cause.

Rodriguez-Nieves argues that, notwithstanding those circumstances, the officers observed nothing but innocent conduct at the time of his arrest. But probable cause for arrest was established in the course of [717]*717the officers’ prior investigatory work. “Good police practice often requires postponing an arrest, even after probable cause has been established....” United States v. Watson, 428 U.S. 411, 481, 96 S.Ct. 820, 46 L.Ed.2d 598 (1976) (Powell, J., concurring); see also Fama, 758 F.2d at 838 (“Although the search warrant was issued thirty-five days after the ... incident, it was sought at the culmination of a major investigation into ongoing, long-term criminal activity. Such a time lag under these circumstances will generally not affect probable cause.”).

[3] Rodriguez-Nieves argues that evidence seized from his person and vehicle at the time of his arrest, along with evidence obtained from search warrants derived from the fruits of that arrest and search, must be suppressed under the exclusionary rule because the arrest was not supported by probable cause.

Because the arrest and search were supported by probable cause, there was no unconstitutional police conduct and the exclusionary rule does not apply.

[4] Rodriguez-Nieves argues that pursuant to the Supreme Court’s decision in Rutledge v. United States, 517 U.S. 292, 116 S.Ct. 1241, 134 L.Ed.2d 419 (1996), he cannot properly be convicted of being the principal administrator of both a continuing criminal enterprise under § 848 (Count Three) and of the lesser included offenses: (i) conspiracy to distribute narcotics under § 846 (Count One), and (ii) basic administration of the same continuing criminal enterprise under § 848 (Count Two).

In Rutledge, 517 U.S. at 294, 116 S.Ct. 1241, the Supreme Court considered whether a defendant had been properly convicted of both participating in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (21 U.S.C. § 846) and of conducting a continuing criminal enterprise (21 U.S.C. § 848), notwithstanding that both counts were based on the same agreement and organization. Id. at 294, 116 S.Ct. 1241. The Supreme Court held that “[a] guilty verdict on [the] § 848 charge necessarily includes a finding that the defendant also participated in a conspiracy violative of § 846; conspiracy is therefore a lesser included offense of [continuing criminal enterprise] ...

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Related

United States v. Watson
423 U.S. 411 (Supreme Court, 1975)
Rutledge v. United States
517 U.S. 292 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Ornelas v. United States
517 U.S. 690 (Supreme Court, 1996)
United States v. Barbara Fama
758 F.2d 834 (Second Circuit, 1985)
United States v. Miguel Pena, A/K/A Bernardo Pena
961 F.2d 333 (Second Circuit, 1992)
United States v. Arthur Morrison
153 F.3d 34 (Second Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Delossantos
536 F.3d 155 (Second Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Yannotti
541 F.3d 112 (Second Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Weintraub
273 F.3d 139 (Second Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Desena
287 F.3d 170 (Second Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Aleskerova
300 F.3d 286 (Second Circuit, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
343 F. App'x 714, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-andino-ca2-2009.