United States v. Carlton Williams

898 F.3d 323
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedAugust 1, 2018
Docket16-3547
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 898 F.3d 323 (United States v. Carlton Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third 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. Carlton Williams, 898 F.3d 323 (3d Cir. 2018).

Opinions

ROTH, Circuit Judge

During an investigation, federal law enforcement officials learned that Carlton Williams was involved in the distribution of heroin. The investigation involved surveillance of Williams's activity, which eventually led to a stop of his car. During the traffic stop, law enforcement officials conducted a search of Williams's car and its *327contents. As they expected, the officials discovered drugs during the search. Williams subsequently pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute in violation of federal drug laws. Williams now appeals the denial of his suppression motion and application of the United States Sentencing Guidelines' career offender enhancement. Finding no merit in either claim, we will affirm Williams's conviction and sentence.

I.

A. Factual Background

The underlying facts are uncontested. During an investigation that began as early as November 2012, a Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer learned that Williams bought heroin in Detroit, Michigan, which he packaged and sold in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The officer subsequently placed a GPS tracker on Williams's car and monitored his movements for approximately one month. On January 11, 2013, data from the GPS tracker indicated that Williams's car was driven to Detroit. Suspecting that Williams drove his car to Detroit to retrieve heroin, the task force officer organized a plan to have Williams's car stopped upon its return to Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State Police trooper Michael Volk effectuated the traffic stop.

Later that same evening, Trooper Volk observed Williams's car speeding and stopped it. The trooper issued a citation for the traffic violation and told Williams that he was free to go. Before Williams left, however, Trooper Volk asked Williams for consent to search his car. Williams agreed and signed a consent to search form labeled "Waiver of Rights and Consent to Search." The parties do not dispute that Williams knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily consented to the search of his car, its contents, and his person.

Trooper Volk, with the help of other troopers, commenced a search of Williams's car that lasted for approximately seventy-one minutes. The troopers searched every part of the car, including its passenger compartment, trunk, and undercarriage. Unable to locate any narcotics, Trooper Volk requested the assistance of a narcotics-detection dog. Shortly thereafter, Trooper Volk updated another trooper on the progress of the search and indicated that "[the search] was going to take awhile [because] he hadn't found [the heroin], but the K-9 was on its way coming from a distance."1

Williams eventually became less patient and told Trooper Volk "you searched my car three times, now you hold me up and I have to go."2 According to Williams, he made this statement in only "a regular tone of voice that he expected Trooper Volk to hear but [the trooper] was at a distance and there was a lot of noise from the turnpike traffic and the wind."3 Other than Williams's own testimony, there was no evidence that Trooper Volk heard his alleged protest. The District Court, as a result, found Williams's testimony "only credible to a degree."4

The troopers continued their search despite Williams's irritation. As the search continued, Williams requested five items from his car, including his two cellular phones. One of the troopers retrieved Williams's cellular phones and attempted to search them before handing them over *328to Williams. The trooper was able to read the text messages contained on only one of the devices because the other device was password-protected. The trooper who read Williams's text messages told Trooper Volk that the messages suggested that Williams had "something."5 When Williams was confronted about the text messages, he warned the officers that they could not search his phone without a warrant.

The search of the car continued. After fifty-one minutes, the troopers had not discovered any drugs. They began to disassemble Williams's sound system speakers. Williams objected that the troopers were not permitted to search his speakers without a warrant. Trooper Volk told Williams to "relax," to which Williams replied, "I've been out here half an hour, man."6 Upon Williams's protest, Trooper Volk reassembled the car's speakers but otherwise continued searching the vehicle. Soon after, and seventy-one minutes into the search, Trooper Volk discovered thirty-nine grams of heroin in a sleeve covering the car's parking brake lever. Williams was immediately arrested.

B. Procedural History

Williams was charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). He filed a number of pretrial motions, including a motion to suppress the evidence seized from his car. Following a two-day hearing and the submission of post-hearing briefing, the District Court denied Williams's suppression motion, because it concluded that Williams had voluntarily consented to the search and had not unequivocally withdrawn his consent during the search.

Prior to Williams's sentencing, the United States Probation Office prepared a Presentence Investigation Report (PSR), which the District Court adopted without change. The sentencing range calculation included U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1 's career offender enhancement because the District Court concluded that Williams had two prior convictions for controlled substance offenses: a 2007 conviction for possession with intent to distribute heroin and a 1998 conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) and (d) of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Williams admitted to various predicate acts forming the basis for his § 1962 RICO conviction, all of which were for possession with intent to distribute either crack cocaine or heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 841(b)(1)(B)(iii), and 846.7 As a result of the career offender enhancement, Williams faced a Guidelines sentencing range of 210-262 months. On May 11, 2016, Williams entered a conditional guilty plea, preserving his right to appeal the denial of his suppression motion and the application of the Guidelines' career offender designation. Williams was sentenced to, inter alia , a term of 160 months' imprisonment. This appeal followed.

Williams appeals both the denial of his suppression motion and the District Court's application of the Guidelines' career offender designation.

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Bluebook (online)
898 F.3d 323, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-carlton-williams-ca3-2018.