United States v. Broughton

983 F. Supp. 2d 224, 2013 WL 5744473, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152370
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedOctober 23, 2013
DocketNo. 13-CR-164 (KAM)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 983 F. Supp. 2d 224 (United States v. Broughton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Broughton, 983 F. Supp. 2d 224, 2013 WL 5744473, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152370 (E.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MATSUMOTO, District Judge:

Defendant Stephannie Broughton (“defendant” or “Broughton”) is charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, importation of cocaine, conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. (ECF No. 13, Indictment.) Broughton was charged with co-defendant Rorianne Prawl (“Prawl”), who subsequently pled guilty to Count One of the Indictment, conspiracy to import cocaine. (ECF No. 22.) Broughton now moves pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3) to suppress statements she made on the date of her arrest, February 14, 2013, to United States Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) officers and Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) agents at John F. Kennedy Airport (“JFK”).

The court held a suppression hearing on September 5, 2013, at which the government presented two witnesses, CBP Officer Christopher Aronica (“Officer Aronica”) and Special Agent Derek Bergman of HSI, and the defendant presented one, Special Agent Daniel Reed, also of HSI. GSee generally Transcript of Suppression Hearing (“Tr.”).) Having considered the testimony of these witnesses and the parties’ written submissions, including the defendant’s declaration dated August 15, 2013, the court denies the motion to suppress.

I. FINDINGS OF FACT

The testimony at the suppression hearing presented a credible and largely consistent account about the circumstances surrounding Broughton’s arrest and questioning at JFK. As such, the court makes the following findings of fact based on that testimony. See Fed.R. Crim.P. 12(d) (“When factual issues are involved in deciding a [pretrial] motion, the court must state its essential findings on the record.”).

A. Officer Aronica’s Testimony

Officer Aronica, whose testimony the court finds credible, testified that he has been a CBP Officer for approximately eight years and currently works in the Passenger Enforcement Roving Team (“PERT”) or Counter Terrorism Roving Response Team (“CTRRT”). (Tr. at 4-5.) Part of his role on these teams is to examine randomly selected passengers and their luggage entering the United States. (Tr. at 10.) On February 14, 2013, while working in Terminal 4 at JFK, Officer Aronica selected Broughton for a random screening prior to her approaching the customs checkpoint. (Tr. at 6-7.) He then asked Broughton several questions about the responses on her customs declaration form; in response to one of these questions, Broughton stated that all items in the two pieces of luggage were hers and that she had packed the bags herself. (Tr. at 9.)

Officer Aronica next examined Broughton’s luggage in a public area. (Tr. at 7-9.) At this time, Broughton was not re[227]*227strained. (Tr. at 10.) During the examination, Officer Aroniea located a shoe in Broughton’s luggage that he believed to be unusually heavy. (Tr. at 11.) Upon probing the shoe, he noticed a “white powdery substance” inside the shoe. (Tr. at 11.)

Following the discovery of the white substance, Officer Aroniea and Broughton moved to a private examination area, a ten foot by ten foot room, with one door, no windows, a desk, chair and bench. (Tr. at 12, 23-24.) There, Broughton was patted down by two female officers while Officer Aroniea waited outside. (Tr. at 12.) Officer Aronica’s notes record that the pat-down occurred at 11:35 AM. (Tr. at 14.) After the patdown search, at 11:38 AM, Officer Aroniea field tested the substance found in the shoe, and determined that it was cocaine. (Tr. at 12-14.) Officer veronica informed Broughton that she was under arrest and handcuffed her at 11:39 AM. (Tr. at 13-14.) A further search of Broughton’s luggage revealed three other shoes containing cocaine. (Tr. at 15.)

According to Officer Aroniea, Broughton made several statements while her bags were being examined in the private examination area: first, that the shoes did not belong to her; second, that the shoes belonged to a friend with whom she was travelling; and, third, that her friend might have had “some kind of connection with drugs and shoes.” (Tr. at 15-16.) Officer Aroniea could not recall whether the first two statements by Broughton were made pre- or post-arrest, but he testified that the third statement regarding her friend’s connection to drugs and shoes was made after Broughton’s arrest. (Tr. at 15-16, 27-28.) He also could not recall asking any questions that prompted Broughton’s statements but testified that he did not ask Broughton whether “she had any involvement with the importation of drugs;” whether “she had imported drugs before;” “how [the] shoes came to be placed in her bag;” “if she had any knowledge of what was contained in the shoes in her bag;” “who was supposed to pick up the shoes at the airport;” “if she was made to carry the shoes;” or “for any information on her friend’s drug connection.” (Tr. at 16-17.) Another officer, whose identity Officer Aroniea could not recall, asked Broughton to describe her friend, and Broughton showed the officers a picture of her co-defendant, Prawl, on her cellphone. (Tr. at 17, 32.)

At some point after Broughton’s arrest, HSI was notified. (Tr. at 17-18.) Aroniea spoke to HSI for “a minute” about the fact that Broughton and Prawl were found with drugs in the shoes they were carrying and had been arrested. (Tr. at 17-18.) He did not believe any other CBP officers gave the HSI agents information that differed from his briefing. (Tr. at 36.) HSI took over the interview from CBP, ending Officer Aronica’s interaction with Broughton. (Tr. at 18.)

During her interaction with CBP, Broughton was not advised of her Miranda rights. (Tr. at 14.) Officer Aroniea testified that CBP officers do not give Miranda warnings as a matter of course and that he understood it to be HSI’s responsibility to provide Miranda rights. (Tr. at 34-35.)

B. Agent Bergman’s Testimony

Agent Bergman, whose testimony the court finds credible, testified that he has worked as a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for three years as part of the JFK Narcotics Smuggling Unit (JNSU) team at JFK Airport. (Tr. at 38.) He further testified that his team was notified of defendant’s arrest at approximately 11:45 AM on February 14, 2013. (Tr. at 38-39.) After arriving at Terminal 4 around 12:30 PM, Bergman [228]*228and his two fellow agents were informed that a second individual, Prawl, had been arrested, and received what he described as “a very cursory sort of summary of what had happened [regarding Broughton]. The name of the person, where they were coming from, and the method of concealment.” (Tr. at 40.) The CBP officer did not communicate the statements Broughton had previously made in the private search room, including that the shoes did not belong to her, that they had been given to her by a friend, and that Ms. Prawl may have had a drug and shoe connection. (Tr. at 51.)

Bergman’s colleague, Special Agent Reed, read Broughton her Miranda rights using a card he borrowed from Agent Bergman with the text of the warnings written on it. (Tr. at 42^13; Gov.’s Ex. 1.) Broughton waived her Miranda rights. (Tr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
983 F. Supp. 2d 224, 2013 WL 5744473, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152370, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-broughton-nyed-2013.