United States v. Conley

342 F. Supp. 3d 247
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedSeptember 20, 2018
DocketCRIMINAL CASE NO. 3:17-CR-214
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 342 F. Supp. 3d 247 (United States v. Conley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Conley, 342 F. Supp. 3d 247 (D. Conn. 2018).

Opinion

Janet C. Hall, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Pending before the court is defendant Devell Conley's Motion to Suppress (Doc. No. 49) and Supplemental Motion to Suppress (Doc. No. 76). Conley argues that the Government violated his Fourth Amendment rights by (1) unlawfully stopping his vehicle on May 18, 2017; (2) unlawfully arresting him without probable cause; (3) conducting an unlawful search by calling a cell phone that was within the vehicle; (4) unlawfully seizing three cell phones from the vehicle; (5) searching the cell phones pursuant to an invalid warrant; (6) unlawfully entering and searching his residence without a warrant; and (7) searching his residence pursuant to an invalid warrant. See Motion to Suppress ("Mot. to Suppress") (Doc. No. 49); Supplemental Motion to Suppress ("Suppl. Mot. to Suppress") (Doc. No. 76). On July 30, 2018, the court conducted an evidentiary hearing on both Motions.

For the reasons stated below, Conley's Motion to Suppress is DENIED , and his Supplemental Motion to Suppress is DENIED .

II. BACKGROUND

A. Hearing Testimony/Findings

The court held an evidentiary hearing on the Motion to Suppress on July 30, 2018.

*255See Minute Entry (Doc. No. 86). At the hearing, the Government presented testimony from Detective Jeffrey Valiette of the East Haven Police Department, Officer Edrick Agosto of the New Haven Police Department, Task Force Officer Allyn Wright of the New Haven Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), and Special Agent Dana Mofenson of the DEA. Conley did not present any witnesses. The Government and the defendant each also introduced a number of exhibits. See Proposed Exhibit List by USA (Doc. No. 83); Defendant's Proposed Exhibit List (Doc. No. 85); Defendant's Supplemental Exhibit List (Doc. No. 87). In his Motions, Conley attacks the credibility of two of the Government's witnesses, Officer Wright and Detective Valiette. The court summarizes the relevant testimony below.

Officer Wright testified at the hearing that, when he arrived at the scene where Conley's vehicle was stopped, Conley was already outside the vehicle. Tr. (Doc. No. 88) at 115. Conley introduced Officer Wright's grand jury testimony on September 20, 2017, at which Officer Wright did not include this detail. Tr. at 115-17; Defense Ex. 2 at 45-48. Officer Wright's grand jury testimony does not contradict his testimony at the hearing before this court, however; it merely omits a detail to which he testified here.

Additionally, Officer Wright testified at the hearing that Conley interacted with the driver of a green Subaru through the driver's side window. Tr. at 118. Conley introduced Officer Wright's grand jury testimony that he saw Conley approach the Subaru from the passenger side. See Tr. at 118-19; Defense Ex. 2 at 45. Officer Wright testified that the two statements were reconcilable, because he saw Conley approach the Subaru from the passenger side of his field of view, continue around to the driver's side, and then conduct the transaction from the driver's side. Tr. at 118-19 Taken in context with the rest of Officer Wright's testimony and his presentation on the stand, the court concludes that neither of these statements undermines the credibility of Officer Wright's testimony.

Officer Valiette testified at the hearing before this court that he interviewed an individual ("Frequent Caller 1"), who stated that he or she knew the person who used the phone number at issue in Valiette's investigation. See Tr. at 32. Valiette testified that Frequent Caller 1 stated that he or she knew the person by the name of D.L., and that he or she knew D.L. to be a black male, 35 years old, operating a white Infiniti SUV. Tr. at 32-33. Valiette stated that Frequent Caller 1 said that he or she had met D.L. an hour before the interview and purchased heroin from D.L. Tr. at 32-33. Frequent Caller 1 added that he or she normally met D.L. at the intersection of Elliot Street and Sylvan Avenue. Tr. at 32.

Officer Valiette testified that he interviewed another individual ("Frequent Caller 2"), who stated that he or she met with a black male, known to them as D.L., who held the phone with the number at issue in the investigation. Tr. at 33. Detective Valiette added that Frequent Caller 2 stated he or she had recently purchased heroin from D.L. with the stamp "Griselda Blanco" on it. Tr. at 33.

Conley argues that Detective Valiette's statements were inconsistent with his report. Specifically, Conley contends that the report contains no "meaningful description" of the black male described. See Suppl. Mem. in Supp. of Def.'s Mot. to Suppress ("Suppl. Mem. in Supp.") (Doc. No. 76-1) at 12-13. Conley adds that the report makes no note of a meeting between Frequent Caller 1 and D.L. that day. Id. Finally, Conley argues that Detective *256Valiette's report contains "even less information" as to Frequent Caller 2, and that the report was less detailed than Detective Valiette's testimony. See id. at 13.

While there are inconsistencies between Detective Valiette's report and his testimony before this court, the discrepancies are minor. The report states that Frequent Caller 1 described the user of the phone number at issue as a drug dealer, and as "a black male in his mid to early thirties," known to Frequent Caller 1 as D.L., who operates a white Infinity SUV to conduct his transactions at the intersection of Sylvan Avenue and Elliot Street. See id. at 12-13.

The report states that Frequent Caller 2 identified the user of the phone number at issue as a black male who went by the name D.L. Id. at 13. The report states that Frequent Caller 2 met D.L. on Elliot Street in New Haven, and that Frequent Caller 2 had recently purchased heroin stamped "Griselda Blanca" from D.L. See id. at 13. The report does not mention an earlier meeting between Frequent Caller 1 and D.L. However, the remaining information in the report largely tracks Detective Valiette's testimony at the hearing. After comparing Detective Valiette's testimony at the hearing with his written report, the court finds that these minor inconsistencies did not undermine Detective Valiette's credibility.

Ultimately, the court finds the Government's four witnesses to be credible, and credits their testimony. While Conley noted minor inconsistencies in testimony, he did not succeed in impeaching any of the four witnesses such that the court would discredit their testimony. The court finds no reason to discredit the witnesses based on their testimony and demeanor in court.

B. Findings of Fact

The court finds the following facts. On May 5, 2017, Detective Valiette responded to a scene where a suspected overdose victim, Christina Pace, was found deceased at the top of a stairway with a syringe in one hand. On a table nearby, Detective Valiette found, inter alia, three unused heroin bags stamped "Griselda Blanco," which tested positive for fentanyl, a number of used heroin bags, and a cell phone. See Gov't Exs. 1-6.

Detective Valiette seized the cell phone and searched it for evidence to identify the individual who sold the heroin to Ms. Pace.

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Bluebook (online)
342 F. Supp. 3d 247, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-conley-ctd-2018.