United States v. Colonna

360 F.3d 1169, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 2028, 2004 WL 233297
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 9, 2004
Docket03-4074
StatusPublished
Cited by118 cases

This text of 360 F.3d 1169 (United States v. Colonna) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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. Colonna, 360 F.3d 1169, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 2028, 2004 WL 233297 (10th Cir. 2004).

Opinion

PAUL KELLY, JR., Circuit Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Jack N. Colonna was convicted by a jury of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon (Counts 1 & 2), 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and possession of marijuana (Count 3), 21 U.S.C. § 844. He was sentenced to 46 months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release. Mr. Colonna argues on appeal that (1) the affidavit supporting the warrant application was insufficient to support a finding of probable cause in view of the district court’s findings that several assertions in the affidavit were false, inaccurate, or misleading; (2) the affidavit lacked a proper factual basis for nighttime entry and a no-knock provision; (3) the district court abused its discretion in refusing to dismiss Count 3 of the superceding indictment for preindictment delay, and refusing to sever Count 3; and (4) the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions on Counts 1 and 2. Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm.

Background

On June 14, 2000, Deputy Brian Weid-mer of the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office sought a warrant to search Mr. Colonna’s home. Attached to the warrant application was a supporting affidavit articulating Weidmer’s basis for believing that Mr. Colonna was using his home as a drug distribution center. The affidavit noted the following:

¶ 10: Deputy Heinz Kopp told Deputy Weidmer that Mr, Colonna — whom Deputy Weidmer knew was a convicted felon — had bragged to Deputy Kopp about owning a handgun.
¶ 11: Deputy Weidmer saw Mr. Colonna covertly watching an unrelated drug bust in West Valley City in a manner that suggested that Mr. Colonna himself had something at stake in the drug bust.
¶ 12: A confidential informant (Cl# 2) told Deputy Joel Knighton, who had previously received reliable information from Cl# 2, that Cl# 2 had *1173 watched Mr. Colonna make a drug delivery in Kearns, Utah.
¶ 13: Deputy Weidmer observed four men in a car waiting outside Mr. Co-lonna’s home for several minutes. The men were led into Mr. Colonna’s house after being met by him in his yard, after Colonna looked over his fence and up and down the street.
¶ 16: During a “trash cover,” Deputy Weidmer removed the contents of a garbage container placed on the street in front of Mr. Colonna’s home, and discovered two burnt roach ends of suspected marijuana cigarettes, a “twist” torn from the corner of a plastic baggie, a plastic baggie with a corner torn from it, and an empty container of Zig Zag cigarette papers.
¶ 17: Mr. Colonna had been arrested twenty-four times in Salt Lake City for various offenses and been convicted of two felonies.

I R. Doc 36.

A Utah state court judge issued the warrant, and a SWAT team executed the warrant shortly before 3:00 a.m. on June 22, 2000, after making a forcible, no-knock entry. During the search, officers discovered four firearms and several boxes of ammunition in the top drawer of a dresser inside Mr. Colonna’s bedroom. Officers also found a marijuana pipe in another drawer of the same dresser, 1 and discovered marijuana in an adjacent night stand. In the family room, the officers found ammunition inside a bureau drawer.

Mr. Colonna was arrested and charged in a two-count indictment with possession of firearms by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The district court denied a motion to suppress after holding a hearing under Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978). On August 21, 2002 — almost two years after the original indictment was filed, and five days before trial was scheduled — the government filed a superceding indictment adding a charge of possession of marijuana. Mr. Colonna’s motion to dismiss or sever the marijuana count was denied.

Discussion

A. Sufficiency of the Affidavit.

Mr. Colonna argues the district court erred in failing to grant his motion to suppress (1) because the affidavit lacked probable cause on its face; and (2) because of “numerous falsehoods contained in the search warrant.” Mr. Colonna also argues that the good faith exception to a defective warrant does not apply. Because the affidavit here supports a finding of probable cause despite its “numerous falsehoods,” it also supports a probable cause finding on its face, and it is not necessary to apply the good faith exception.

In reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress, this court considers the totality of the circumstances and views the evidence in the light most favorable to the government. United States v. Higgins, 282 F.3d 1261, 1269 (10th Cir.2002). We accept the district court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous, although the ultimate determination of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment is reviewed de novo. Id.

In the district court, Mr. Colonna pointed to five alleged falsehoods: (1) that Deputy Kopp told Deputy Weidmer that Mr. Colonna had bragged about owning or having guns, I R. Doc. 36 ¶ 10; (2) that Deputy Weidmer conducted a criminal history check of Mr. Colonna in early 2000, id. *1174 ¶¶ 10, 17; (3) that Mr. Colonna covertly watched the unrelated drug bust, id. ¶ 11; (4) that the garbage can belonging to Mr. Colonna was not on Mr. Colonna’s property when removed, id. ¶ 16; and (5) that Deputy Weidmer had information from Cl# 2, id. ¶ 12. The district court found that the first statement was indeed a deliberate falsehood; it found that the second, third, and fifth statements “were, at the least, inaccurate or misleading,” and refused to consider them. I R. Doc. 67 at 4.

“It is a violation of the Fourth Amendment for an affiant to knowingly and intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth, make a false statement in an affidavit. Where a false statement is made in an affidavit for a search warrant, the search warrant must be voided if the affidavit’s remaining content is insufficient to establish probable cause.” United States v. Basham, 268 F.3d 1199, 1204 (10th Cir.2001) (citing Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 171-72, 98 S.Ct.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Murphy
100 F.4th 1184 (Tenth Circuit, 2024)
United States v. Jenkins
Tenth Circuit, 2020
United States v. Orozco
916 F.3d 919 (Tenth Circuit, 2019)
United States v. Martinez
Tenth Circuit, 2018
State v. Teague
817 S.E.2d 239 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2018)
State v. Cotton
299 Neb. 650 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 2018)
United States v. Nicholas
686 F. App'x 570 (Tenth Circuit, 2017)
State Ex Rel. Two Unnamed v. Peterson
2015 WI 85 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2015)
United States v. Eastham
618 F. App'x 421 (Tenth Circuit, 2015)
Hugo Alberto Sandoval v. Commonwealth of Virginia
768 S.E.2d 709 (Court of Appeals of Virginia, 2015)
United States v. Truby
588 F. App'x 847 (Tenth Circuit, 2014)
United States v. Morales
758 F.3d 1232 (Tenth Circuit, 2014)
United States v. Exom
565 F. App'x 699 (Tenth Circuit, 2014)
United States v. Tucker
502 F. App'x 720 (Tenth Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Bagby
696 F.3d 1074 (Tenth Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Hoyle
697 F.3d 1158 (Tenth Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Madden
682 F.3d 920 (Tenth Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Koch
444 F. App'x 293 (Tenth Circuit, 2011)
United States v. McDuffy
636 F.3d 361 (Seventh Circuit, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
360 F.3d 1169, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 2028, 2004 WL 233297, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-colonna-ca10-2004.