United States v. Creighton

639 F.3d 1281, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 9697, 2011 WL 1797912
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedMay 12, 2011
Docket10-1033
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 639 F.3d 1281 (United States v. Creighton) 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. Creighton, 639 F.3d 1281, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 9697, 2011 WL 1797912 (10th Cir. 2011).

Opinions

BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.

Defendant Ronald Creighton appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained in three separate searches. In an ongoing effort to support their drug habit, Defendant and his cohorts stole large quantities of personal mail from apartment buildings and condominiums in the Denver, Colorado, metro area. Defendant would use the information obtained to generate false identifications and counterfeit checks on a computer. Defendant and his cohorts would then pass those checks to local businesses. Over the eighteen month course of the scheme, Defendant suffered four involuntary encounters with law enforcement officials, three of which uncovered the evidentiary fruits at issue in this appeal.

A federal grand jury ultimately charged Defendant with criminal misconduct related to theft and fraud in 16 counts of a 22-count indictment. Following a bench trial, the district court found Defendant guilty on 13 counts and sentenced him to 164 months imprisonment. Relevant to this appeal, Defendant was convicted on Counts 1, 18, and 19 of possessing stolen mail in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1708; on Counts 2 and 20 of possessing counterfeiting implements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(5); on Count 3 of fraud in connection with identification documents in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(3); and on Count 5 of making, possessing, and uttering counterfeit securities in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 513(a). Counts 1, 2, 3, and 5 are based on evidence arising from Defendant’s arrest on March 8, 2005, outside a Motel 6 in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Count 18 is based on evidence arising from Defendant’s arrest on June 19, 2005, inside a Homestead Suites hotel room in Glendale, Colorado. Counts 19 and 20 are based on evidence obtained as a result of Defendant’s arrest on July 11, 2006, outside a residence located on Granby Way in Aurora, Colorado. We consider Defendant’s challenge to each incident in turn, reciting the applicable facts and legal standards only as relevant to our analyses. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we summarily affirm.

I.

Defendant first challenges the inventory search of his luggage which followed his lawful arrest by officers of the Greenwood Village Police Department (GVPD) outside a Motel 6 on March 8, 2005. Defendant claims the GVPD’s inventory search violated the Fourth Amendment’s reasonableness requirement because, contrary to the district court’s conclusion, the Government failed to produce evidence that the search was sufficiently regulated. We review de novo the district court’s conclusion, based upon the undisputed state of the record, that the GVPD’s inventory search of Defendant’s luggage was sufficiently regulated, and thus consonant with the Fourth Amendment. See United States v. Allen, 43 Fed. [1284]*1284Appx. 363, 364 (10th Cir.2002) (reviewing the reasonableness of an inventory search de novo).

A.

In Florida v. Wells, 495 U.S. 1, 110 S.Ct. 1632, 109 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990), the Supreme Court upheld the suppression of evidence uncovered during a state trooper’s inventory search of a vehicle where the highway patrol “had no policy whatever with respect to the opening of closed containers encountered during an inventory search.” Id. at 4-5, 110 S.Ct. 1632 (emphasis added). The Court held “that absent such a policy, the instant search was not sufficiently regulated to satisfy the Fourth Amendment.” Id. at 5, 110 S.Ct. 1632. The Court explained that “standard criteria or established routine ” must regulate the opening of containers located during an inventory search because “an inventory search must not be a ruse for a general rummaging in order to discover incriminating evidence.” Id. at 4, 110 S.Ct. 1632 (internal citation omitted) (emphasis added). Rather, an inventory search should promote three administrative purposes: “the protection of the owner’s property while it remains in police custody; the protection of the police against claims or disputes over lost or stolen property; and the protection of the police from potential danger.” South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364, 369, 96 S.Ct. 3092, 49 L.Ed.2d 1000 (1976) (internal citations omitted). To those ends, the Court in Wells, 495 U.S. at 4, 110 S.Ct. 1632, set parameters within which law enforcement might establish a legitimate inventory search policy:

A police officer may be allowed sufficient latitude to determine whether a particular container should or should not be opened in light of the nature of the search and characteristics of the container itself. Thus, while policies of opening all containers or of opening no containers are unquestionably permissible, it would be equally permissible, for example, to allow the opening of closed containers whose contents officers determine they are unable to ascertain from examining the containers’ exteriors. The allowance of the exercise of judgment based on concerns related to the purpose of an inventory search does not violate the Fourth Amendment.

B.

In this case, the record amply supports the district court’s conclusion that the GVPD’s inventory search of Defendant’s luggage was undertaken pursuant to “standard criteria or established routine,” and thus “sufficiently regulated” so as to serve the purposes of a legitimate inventory search. See id. at 4-5, 110 S.Ct. 1632. Two officers from the GVPD, Tracy Thompson and Mark Dean, first responded to a call regarding possible property damage at the Motel 6. Both officers testified at the evidentiary hearing on Defendant’s motion to suppress. At that hearing, the Government introduced into evidence as Exhibits 1 and 2 the GVPD’s “Standard Operating Guidelines” for “Found Property” and “Vehicle Impounds.” Both sets of guidelines require an itemized inventory of all personal property coming into the GVPD’s possession. Record on Appeal (ROA), Addendum of Exhibits, Gov’t Exh. 1 &2.

Officer Thompson explained that following the arrest of Defendant and one of his cohorts, the two suspects’ luggage remained in the parking lot where they earlier had placed it after summoning a cab:

I told Mr. Creighton and Mr. Jastremski, you know, we can’t just leave your stuff out here in the parking lot. They had no friends close by. They didn’t live close by. The hotel didn’t want anything to do with their property because they weren’t registered guests at [1285]*1285the hotel.... [The hotel] didn’t want the responsibility or liability of taking custody of all of that property. So I specifically explained to both of the gentleman that I was going to take custody of all of their property, document any valuables, make sure there wasn’t any dangerous implements or weapons, and book it into [GVPD] for safekeeping.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
639 F.3d 1281, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 9697, 2011 WL 1797912, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-creighton-ca10-2011.