United States v. Collet Williams

718 F.3d 644, 2013 WL 2149897, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 10025
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedMay 20, 2013
Docket11-3129
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 718 F.3d 644 (United States v. Collet Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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. Collet Williams, 718 F.3d 644, 2013 WL 2149897, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 10025 (7th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

HAMILTON, Circuit Judge.

On April 9, 2004, federal agents and local police executed a search warrant at defendant Collet Williams’ residence and found roughly five kilograms of marijuana, a handgun, and several scales. Williams moved to suppress the fruits of this search before trial. Relying on Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978), Williams argued that the warrant authorizing the search was invalid because the law enforcement officers presented the warrant judge with an affidavit that contained false statements and misleading omissions made with at least reckless disregard for the truth. The *646 district court held a Franks hearing to test the sufficiency of the warrant. After hearing testimony, the court issued an oral decision finding that the law enforcement officers did not recklessly disregard the truth, and that even if they had, once the errors were removed and the omitted material included, probable cause would have remained for a search warrant to issue.

In the ensuing bench trial, Williams was convicted of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5). He now appeals the denial of his motion to suppress and asks this court to vacate his conviction. We conclude that the district court did not clearly err in finding that the officers did not deliberately or recklessly mislead the court that issued the warrant. Because this is a sufficient ground to affirm the conviction, we do not reach the question whether the errors were material.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

A. The Warrant Affidavit

The story of Williams’ arrest begins with Andre Bell. Early in the afternoon of April 9, 2004, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) arrested Bell after he purchased five firearms from an undercover ATF agent. On his way to a police station, Bell made clear that he wanted to cooperate. At the station he waived his rights and agreed to tell the police what he knew. ATF Agent Labno and several Chicago police officers then interviewed Bell around 2:00 p.m. During the initial interview, Bell told the police that he was planning to resell the guns to Williams in exchange for cash and marijuana. Bell said that Williams was his marijuana supplier and that he regularly purchased between $6,000 and $10,000 of marijuana per week from Williams. His most recent visit to Williams’ apartment had occurred three or four days earlier, during which he had observed marijuana and Williams showed him two 9-millimeter handguns. Bell also told the officers that Williams had left for California the day before and would be gone for a few days.

Following the interview, the police attempted to build a case against Williams. Bell placed a series of monitored phone calls to Williams between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. In these calls, Bell sought to sell the guns to Williams and to arrange for the purchase of ten pounds of marijuana. Williams, who was in fact in California at the time, expressed disappointment that he was not in town to negotiate the purchase of the guns from Bell, but he told Bell his associate could meet Bell at Williams’ apartment with the drugs that afternoon. Bell agreed to meet the associate between 5:45 and 6:15 p.m.

The police began preparing an application for a warrant to search Williams’ residence before the scheduled deal. The agents transported Bell to Williams’ residence so that he could identify the apartment for them and they could further corroborate his account. They then transported him back to the police station where Officer Korbas was preparing a search warrant affidavit. Officer Korbas then faxed the warrant application to a prosecutor who signed the application and faxed it back to the precinct at 5:00 p.m.

The warrant application was supported by a single affidavit that was signed jointly by both Officer Korbas and Bell. The affidavit stated:

On 09 Apr 04, I, Dean Korbas, met an individual who wants to cooperate with the police. This individual wishes to remain anonymous. In conversation with this individual, the following was related to me. *647 I, J. Doe (not my real name) met with police officer Dean Korbas on Friday Apr. 9, 2004 in the afternoon hours. On the date of Apr 8, 2004,1, J. Doe went to the residence located at 8019 S. Saginaw, located in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. I was admitted into the rear back porch of the second story of the residence by an individual known to me as (COLLETT), whom I have known for six years and been buying “WEED” (street term for cannabis) from him during that time. I followed (COLLETT) to the dining room closet of the residence where, COLLETT removed three pounds of “WEED” that was packaged by the pound in large clear plastic Ziploc bags and exchanged with him $1700.00 U.S.C. As COLLETT was removing the “WEED” I also observed two handguns and additional clear plastic bags containing ‘WEED” consistent with what I purchased. Following the purchase I then left his residence. Later that evening I smoked a sample of the ‘WEED” that I had just purchased from (COL-LETT) and this gave me the same feeling of high as in the past purchase of “WEED” from (COLLETT). (COL-LETT’s) residence was described to Officer Korbas as a two-story residence with red ashfault [sic] shingle siding with a front porch painted white with red trim.
Doe also described the rear of the residence as having white vinyl siding enclosed rear porch with a single stair case leading up to a glass/metal storm door in front of a wooden entry door. The residence also had a detached garage red in color to the east.
Based on the information supplied to me, Dean Korbas, by J. Doe, I believe there is probable cause to search (COL-LETT), as well as the second story residence of 8019 S. Saginaw, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois and respectfully request that a search warrant be issued.

Notably, the affidavit omitted any reference to the monitored telephone calls between Bell and Williams that provided the strongest support for a finding of probable cause.

Because time was of the essence, the police arranged to meet a state judge in a nearby park to swear out the warrant. At approximately 5:00 p.m., Officer Korbas and Bell went to a park located several blocks from the police station and met the judge on a park bench. (April 9, 2004 was Good Friday.) Officer Korbas remembers nothing about the meeting. Bell remembers that the judge asked him some questions but does not remember what they were. The judge then signed the warrant, and the police proceeded to search Williams’ house, where they found the marijuana and scales, as well as the handgun that was the basis for Williams’ conviction under § 922(g)(5).

B. The Franks Hearing

Before trial, Williams filed a motion to suppress the seized evidence on the ground that the affidavit in support of the warrant was deliberately or recklessly false. The district court granted a hearing pursuant to Franks v. Delaware,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
718 F.3d 644, 2013 WL 2149897, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 10025, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-collet-williams-ca7-2013.