United States v. Bailey

979 F. Supp. 1319, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15900, 1997 WL 627395
District Court, D. Kansas·Decided August 29, 1997·No. 96-40063-01-SAC·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CROW, Senior District Judge.

On August 28, 1997, the grand jury returned a one count indictment charging Mark Joshua Bailey with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack cocaine) in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). That charge is alleged to have occurred on or about January 26, 1996, and is the result of an execution of a search warrant for the premises and occupants of 1201 S.W. Western, Topeka, Kansas. On June 26, 1997, the court held a hearing to consider the defendant’s motion to suppress and the defendant’s motion for production and discovery. *1321 Those motions were taken under advisement. On July 3, 1997, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment. The superseding indictment contains one additional § 841(a)(1) charge. That narcotics offense is alleged to have occurred on or about November 1,1995, approximately three months before the crime charged in Count I of the original indictment is alleged to have occurred. On July 14, 1997, this court entered an eleven page memorandum and order denying the defendant’s motion to suppress (Dk.23) and denied as moot the defendant’s motion for production and discovery (Dk.25). See United States v. Bailey, 979 F.Supp. 1315 (D.Kan.1997).

Since the superseding indictment was filed, Bailey has filed these additional pretrial motions:

1. Motion to Suppress (Dk.46); Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to suppress (Dk.48).
2. Motion to Sever Counts (Dk.47); Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Sever Counts (Dk.49).
3. Motion for Continuance (Dk.51).

The government has filed a consolidated response opposing the defendant’s motion to suppress and motion to sever. See (Dk.52). The government has not filed a written response to the defendant’s motion for continuance.

On August 28, 1997, the court conducted a hearing to consider the defendant’s motions. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court took the matter under advisement. This order constitutes the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.

1. Motion to Suppress (Dk.46).

Bailey seeks “to suppress certain evidence obtained by the police in derogation of [his] Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights as guaranteed by the United States Constitution.” Specifically, Bailey seeks to suppress from evidence crack cocaine confiscated by officers shortly before his arrest on November 1 1995, and any statements he made to police in response to their unlawful “search and seizure.”

The government opposes the defendant’s motion. Based upon its version of the facts, the government contends that Bailey has no standing to challenge the seizure of the narcotics as he had abandoned any interest in the drugs as evidenced by his own actions and statements. Consequently, the government contends that suppression would be inappropriate. In the alternative, the government contends that there was ample evidence warranting a Terry stop and that the totality of circumstances clearly justified such a brief investigatory stop. In regard to Bailey’s oral statements, the government contends that those statements were not the product of custodial interrogation, but instead were made spontaneously by Bailey in reaction to Officer Hill’s act of walking back to the area where he had seen Bailey stoop over and place something on the ground.

Findings of Fact

On the evening of November 1, 1995, around 11:00 p.m. Officers Hill and Chapman of the Topeka, Kansas, police department were on routine patrol. Based upon anonymous complaints that 1277 Western was the location of a possible drug house and upon anonymous information that drug sales were being conducted in the alley behind residence, the officers patrolled the area to observe what, if any, suspicious activity in the area. While driving on Huntoon street, the officers observed two or three black male individuals in the alley near the rear of 1277 Western. The officers drove down .the alley for a closer inspection. As the officers approached in their patrol car, Bailey began walking in an easterly direction while the other person, later identified as a man named “Ronnie Fuller” went in another direction. Based upon his prior experience, Officer Hill knew Bailey as a person involved in narcotics trafficking.

Officer Chapman made contact with Fuller. Officer Hill walked in the direction that he had seen Bailey walk and was able to observe him from the shadows. Prior to confronting the defendant, Officer Hill observed Bailey take his right hand out of his pocket, bend over and appear to place something on the ground. Bailey then apparently turned and began heading back in the direction of the patrol car. At that point Officer Hill emerged from the shadows and made contact with Bailey. Officer Hill indicated *1322 that he wanted to talk to Bailey about possible illegal activity taking place in the area. Based upon his fear that Bailey might be carrying a weapon, Officer Hill conducted a Terry pat-down.

Once Officer Hill and Bailey had arrived at the area of the patrol car, Officer Hill headed back to make a closer inspection of the area where he had observed the defendant bend over and place something on the ground. As Officer Hill walked toward the area, Bailey made the following unsolicited comment: “If you find anything on the ground in that area, it’s not mine” or something to that effect. In response to Bailey’s comment, Officer Chapman asked Bailey “if people frequently threw items on the ground in that area.” Bailey responded “no” and reiterated that anything found in that area was not his.

Officer Hill’s scan of the area located a plastic bag containing what he believed to be crack cocaine in the spot he had seen Bailey bend over. Bailey was placed under arrest. Officer Hill noted that the plastic bag was dry notwithstanding the fact that it had been drizzling that night and that the ground in that area was damp.

Fourth Amendment

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United States v. Bailey, 979 F. Supp. 1319, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15900, 1997 WL 627395 (D. Kan. 1997).

979 F. Supp. 1319 (United States v. Bailey) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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