United States v. Gholston

993 F. Supp. 2d 704, 2014 WL 279609, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9301
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJanuary 27, 2014
DocketCase No. 13-20187
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 993 F. Supp. 2d 704 (United States v. Gholston) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Gholston, 993 F. Supp. 2d 704, 2014 WL 279609, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9301 (E.D. Mich. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE

GERALD E. ROSEN, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant Maurice Gholston, along with co-Defendant Robert Metcalf, is charged in a March 21, 2013 first superseding indictment with one count of interference with commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), and one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Through the present motion filed on October 28, 2013, Defendant seeks to suppress evidence obtained during a search, pursuant to a warrant, of the contents of a cell phone found in Defendant’s possession at the time of his arrest.

On December 5, 2013, the Court held a hearing on Defendant’s motion to suppress. For the reasons stated on the record at the December 5 hearing, as supplemented by the rulings below, the Court denies Defendant’s motion.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On February 12, 2013 at approximately 10:24 p.m., two masked men entered a BP gas station located at 1781 South Fort Street in Detroit, Michigan. One of the men was armed with a long gun. After gaining access to the enclosed cashier area of the gas station and pointing the gun at the cashier, the robbers ripped the cash register off the counter, and the two men then fled the location.

Following this incident, the gas station cashier was interviewed by the Detroit police, and he identified one of the robbers as an individual he knew as “Reese” who regularly visited the gas station. In addition, law enforcement officers reviewed security footage captured by cameras inside, the gas station. Through their investigation, the Detroit police determined that “Reese” was Defendant Maurice Gholston, and Defendant was arrested by Detroit police officers on February 21, 2013, nine days after the gas station robbery. At the time of his arrest, Defendant had a T-Mobile cellular telephone in his possession, and the arresting officers seized this cell phone but did not examine its contents at the time. Defendant was held in custody until February 25, 2013, and was then released following a detention hearing, but his cell phone was not returned to him.

On March 4, 2013, FBI Task Force Officer (“TFO”) Anthony Gavel submitted an application for a search warrant to Magistrate Judge David R. Grand, seeking authorization to search the cell phone seized from Defendant for evidence relating to the BP gas station robbery.1 In support of this application, TFO Gavel detailed the robbery offense under investigation, the [708]*708facts that had led to Defendant’s arrest for this offense, and the results of the previously authorized search of Defendant’s home. TFO Gavel further stated, based upon his training and experience regarding cell phone use in robberies involving multiple participants, that an examination of the data on these devices can reveal evidence of “who possessed or used the device,” and that the individuals involved in such “violent robberies often pre-plan the robbery by searching the internet for locations of certain businesses” and by “coordinating] and communicating] via cellular telephone prior to the robbery to arrange meeting times, the availability of firearms and other details related to the robbery.” (Defendant’s Motion, Ex. A, Search Warrant Aff. at ¶ 11.)2 Accordingly, TFO Gavel sought the authority to “locate forensic electronic evidence” on the cell phone that “establishes how [the device] was used, the purposes of its use, who used it, and when as well as evidence of other participants to the robbery,” and he opined that there was “probable cause to believe that this forensic electronic evidence might be on the Device.” (id at ¶ 13.)

Magistrate Judge Grand issued the requested search warrant on the date it was sought, March 4, 2013, and federal officers proceeded to search the contents of the cell phone found in Defendant’s possession on the date of his arrest. According to the Government, this search revealed text messages sent to co-Defendant Metcalf and accompanying images created on the date of the robbery, February 12, 2013, that “depict[ed] [Defendant] in masks that appear to be the same as those worn by the perpetrators of the robbery.” (Gov’t Response Br. at 4.) Defendant now seeks to suppress the evidence obtained in this search of his cell phone.

III. ANALYSIS

A. The Seizure of Defendant’s Cell Phone Incident to His Arrest, and the Later Search of This Cell Phone Pursuant to a Warrant, Did Not Violate Defendant’s Fourth Amendment Rights.

It is well-settled that a police officer may perform a warrantless search of an individual incident to a lawful custodial arrest. See United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 235, 94 S.Ct. 467, 477, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973); United States v. Campbell, 486 F.3d 949, 955 (6th Cir.2007). The justification for such a search incident to arrest is not confined to “the need to disarm the suspect in order to take him into custody,” but also extends to “the need to preserve evidence on his person for later use at trial.” Robinson, 414 U.S. at 234, 94 S.Ct. at 476; see also United States v. Buford, 632 F.3d 264, 268 (6th Cir.2011). For purposes of his present motion, Defendant does not challenge the legality of his arrest, nor does he deny that the arresting officers had the authority to conduct a warrantless search incident to this arrest. Rather, he contends that the seizure and subsequent search of his cell phone were unlawful because (i) at the time of his arrest, it would not have been immediately apparent to the arresting officers that the cell phone would contain incriminating evidence subject to seizure, and (ii) nothing in the ensuing investigation or in the search warrant application prepared by TFO Gavel bridged this gap and provided probable cause to believe [709]*709that this device would contain evidence of the robbery offense under investigation.

As the parties tacitly acknowledge in their briefs, no court has directly addressed the specific issues raised in Defendant’s motion, at least under facts similar to those presented here. Instead, the Government proceeds by analogy to case law — albeit none that is binding upon this Court — affirming an arresting officer’s authority to seize a cell phone and conduct a warrantless search of its contents incident to a lawful arrest. In United States v. Murphy, 552 F.3d 405, 407-08 (4th Cir.2009), for example, defendant Damian Antonio Murphy was a passenger in a car stopped by state troopers for reckless driving, and it was determined that no one in the vehicle had a valid driver’s license. When Murphy identified himself by multiple names to the troopers and “his true identity could not be verified,” he was arrested for obstruction of justice. Murphy, 552 F.3d at 408. In an effort to confirm his proper identity, Murphy handed one of the troopers his cell phone and “showed [the trooper] how to use it in order to locate the number for [Murphy’s] employer.” Murphy, 552 F.3d at 408.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
993 F. Supp. 2d 704, 2014 WL 279609, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-gholston-mied-2014.