United States v. Antonio Rodriguez-Preciado, AKA Tony Rodriguez-Preciado

399 F.3d 1118, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 3634, 2005 WL 502860
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedMarch 4, 2005
Docket03-30285
StatusPublished
Cited by146 cases

This text of 399 F.3d 1118 (United States v. Antonio Rodriguez-Preciado, AKA Tony Rodriguez-Preciado) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth 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. Antonio Rodriguez-Preciado, AKA Tony Rodriguez-Preciado, 399 F.3d 1118, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 3634, 2005 WL 502860 (9th Cir. 2005).

Opinions

Opinion by Judge WALLACE; Partial Dissent by Judge BERZON.

WALLACE, Senior Circuit Judge.

Rodriguez-Preeiado appeals from his conviction for various narcotics-related offenses. He argues that the district court improperly denied his pre-trial motion to suppress evidence obtained from his person, his motel room, and his vehicle, as well as statements that he made in the motel room and during a subsequent two-day interrogation. In support of these claims, he contends that the officers did not obtain a valid consent to enter and search the motel room, and that they began a custodial interrogation of him in the [1123]*1123motel room without giving the warnings prescribed by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Furthermore, he argues he did not validly waive his right to remain silent after he was eventually given Miranda warnings, the warnings became “stale” and should have been re-administered at the outset of the second day of interrogation, and the officers’ failure to advise him of his right under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention requires suppression. He also contends the officers did not obtain a valid consent to search his person and vehicle, and these searches exceeded the scope of any consent. In addition to these suppression arguments, he asserts that the district court violated the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1), and that the prosecutor improperly commented on his failure to testify, in violation of Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed.2d 106 (1965).

The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231, and we have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm.

I.

An ongoing narcotics investigation led law enforcement officers to an Oregon motel room in search of Rodriguez-Preeiado, who was suspected to be involved in drug trafficking. The officers had questioned Robert Glenn, another target of the investigation, and learned that Rodríguez-Pre-ciado could be found at the motel room and would have contraband in his car.

Five officers arrived at the motel without a warrant. At least three officers went to the motel room door dressed in plain clothes and carrying concealed weapons, including Officer Hascall and Deputy Lilley. They knocked on the door and a man, later identified as Alberto Silva, answered. While standing outside the door, Hascall displayed his badge, identified himself as a police officer, and' asked Silva whether he understood English. Silva replied that he did not. Hascall spoke some Spanish and stated in Spanish that he was a police officer and asked for permission to enter the room. Silva said “Si,” backed away from the door, and motioned with his arms for the officers to enter the room. Hascall also asked Silva in Spanish whether the motel room was his; Silva replied that it was.

Once inside the room, Hascall explained that the officers were there to investigate suspected narcotics sales activity. He asked Silva whether he sold narcotics, and Silva said he did not. Hascall then asked Silva for permission to search the room for drugs. Silva consented. Throughout this conversation, none of the officers had their hands on their weapons, and Silva was not handcuffed or otherwise detained. At no point did the officers give Silva Miranda warnings, explain that he had the right not to consent to the search, or state that they could obtain a search warrant for the motel room. The officers found no drugs or weapons during the search, but they did find, among other things, a shipping label addressed to Glenn’s business and a fax from Glenn.

Rodriguez-Preeiado entered the motel room while the officers were still there. Hascall displayed his badge, told Rodriguez-Preciado that he and the others were police officers, and asked Rodrí-guez-Preciado whether he understood English. Rodriguez-Preeiado said that he did, so Hascall explained that the officers were there to investigate narcotics activity, that Silva had consented to a search of the room, and that the search had not produced “any weapons or drugs or anything.” During this conversation, the officers did not display or touch their weapons, and did not surround, pat down, or [1124]*1124handcuff Rodríguez-Preciado. Rodrí-guez-Preciado expressed no objection to either the officers’ presence in the room or that Silva had consented to the search.

Hascall then asked RodriguezpPreciado whether he had any drugs in his possession. Rodríguez-Preciado said yes and produced a small paper bindle of cocaine from his shirt pocket. Hascall immediately advised RodriguezAPreciado of the required Miranda wárnings and asked whether Rodríguez-Preciado understood them. Rodríguez-Preciado said that he did. Hascall did not inform Rodríguez-Preciado of any right that he, as a Mexican national, -might have under the Vienna Convention.

After Hascall requested permission to search Rodriguez-Preeiado’s person and his vehicle, .Rodríguez-Preciado consented and handed him the keys to the van he had been driving. Rodríguez-Preciado said the van .contained no weapons or drugs. Sergeant Romanaggi searched the van and discovered $3,360 hidden in a child safety seat in the van. Hascall also found $1,849 in cash in Rodriguez-Preeiado’s wallet.

Based on this and other evidence, the officers decided to' interview Rodríguez-Preciado in more detail. He was handcuffed and taken ,to a Washington County Sheriffs Office substation. When he arrived at the interview room, his handcuffs were removed and Hascall and Lilley began questioning Rodríguez-Preciado, primarily about his relationship with Glenn. During that conversation, Rodriguez-Pre-. ciado described several instances in which he had sold marijuana and methamphetamine to. Glenn, including a sale of one pound of methamphetamine that had occurred several days earlier. Rodríguez-Preciado also described a failed attempt to obtain the drug “ecstasy” for Glenn (the slang term for a drug known as MDMA or MDA), and a sale of • five kilograms of cocaine to another individual.

According to Hascall, the officers’ conversations with Rodríguez-Preciado at the motel room and while he was being interrogated at the substation were conducted entirely in English. Hascall testified the officers had “no difficulty” communicating with Rodríguez-Preciado, with the exception of some initial confusion about the meaning of the word “methamphetamine.” This confusion was dispelled after Rodrí-guez-Preciado later asked the officers whether they meant “crystal,” which is the slang term for methamphetamine.

At one point in the interview, the officers asked Rodríguez-Preciado, “Where is the rest of the meth?” Rodríguez-Precia-do replied that a pound of methamphetamine was behind the rear speaker of the van. The record is not clear whether Has-call specifically sought Rodriguez-Precia-do’s permission to search that area of the van. Hascall informed Romanaggi, who dismantled the rear speaker and found one pound of methamphetamine.

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Bluebook (online)
399 F.3d 1118, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 3634, 2005 WL 502860, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-antonio-rodriguez-preciado-aka-tony-rodriguez-preciado-ca9-2005.