United States v. Glover

211 F. App'x 811
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided January 10, 2007·No. No. 06-5029·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT**

PAUL KELLY, JR., Circuit Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Alex Glover Jr. pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) & 924(e), and was sentenced to 180 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. Mr. Glover challenges, on Fourth and Fifth Amendment grounds, the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress certain incriminating statements made to police. He also challenges the district court’s determination that his prior felonies for drunk driving and larceny constitute violent felonies under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a), and we affirm.

Background

Officers of the Tulsa, Oklahoma Police Department set up a controlled buy at a residence from one Chino Conchitias. After the purchase was completed, the officers obtained a search warrant for the residence. The affidavit for the warrant listed the following items to be searched for: “cocaine, drug paraphernalia, monies derived from the sale of illegal drugs, guns, cellular phones, pagers, records, ledgers, keys, unexplained wealth, surveillance equipment and proof of residency.” I R. Doc. 13, Ex. 2 at 1. Seven officers then executed the warrant shortly before 10:00 p.m. on May 6, 2006. The house was surrounded by a chain-link fence secured by a padlock. With weapons drawn, the officers announced their intent to serve the warrant and asked if anyone was inside the house. Mr. Glover came outside and stated that he and his son, Mr. Conchitias, were in the house. Mr. Conchitias then exited the house as well and opened the locked gate. The officers handcuffed both Mr. Glover and Mr. Conchitias. Mr. Con[813] chitias then indicated that another person, a woman named Tamara, was also inside the house. The officers ordered Tamara to come to the front of the house where she too was handcuffed.

The officers then placed Mr. Glover, Mr. Conchitias, and Tamara on a couch in the house while they executed the search warrant. During the search, the officers found a .32 caliber pistol located in a fold-up bed in the northwest bedroom of the house. After the search was completed, an officer asked something to the effect of “Who lives here?” Ill R. at 10, 20, 30-31. Mr. Glover stated the house was his and that he slept in the northwest bedroom. Id. at 31.1

Mr. Conchitias and Tamara denied living in the house. The officers then arrested Mr. Glover and Mr. Conchitias. When one of the officers told Mr. Glover and Mr. Conchitias that they were going to jail for possession of marijuana and a gun, Mr. Glover stated, “The gun and marijuana are mine, not his.” I R. Doc. 14 at 3; III R. at 11.

Mr. Glover moved to suppress his statements informing the officers that the northwest bedroom was his and that the gun and marijuana were his. He argued that his detention was illegal, tainting the statements, and that the statements were made in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). The district court denied Mr. Glover’s motion to suppress.

The district court also determined that Mr. Glover qualified for an enhanced sentence under the ACCA because he had previously committed five violent felonies. Specifically, the district court found that Mr. Glover’s two previous convictions for drunk driving and one previous conviction for larceny qualified as violent felonies.

Discussion

I. Mr. Glover’s Detention and Incriminating Statements

When reviewing a district court’s denial of a motion to suppress, we consider the totality of the circumstances and view all evidence in a light most favorable to the government. United States v. Riccardi, 405 F.3d 852, 860 (10th Cir.2005). We accept the district court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. Id. at 859. However, the ultimate determination of Fourth Amendment reasonableness is a question of law that we review de novo. United States v. Kimoana, 383 F.3d 1215, 1220 (10th Cir.2004).

First, Mr. Glover argues that it was unreasonable for officers to detain him with handcuffs while they searched his house and that his incriminating statements should be suppressed because they were obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. However, the Supreme Court has made clear that police may detain occupants of a residence while conducting a search authorized by a proper warrant. See Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 704-05, 101 S.Ct. 2587, 69 L.Ed.2d 340 (1981). Furthermore, the use of handcuffs to effectuate such a detention is proper when the search involves an inherent risk to officer safety. See Muehler v. Mena, 544 U.S. 93, 100, 125 S.Ct. 1465, 161 L.Ed.2d 299 (2005).

In this case, officers were authorized to search for both drugs and guns in a residence where drug-dealing had occurred and which was occupied by a twice-convicted drug dealer. They were confronted with multiple occupants. As in Muehler, the use of handcuffs in this situation was objectively reasonable because their use minimized the safety risk to officers and others. Id.

[814] Second, Mr. Glover argues that his incriminating statements were made in violation of Miranda because he was not first informed of his constitutional right to remain silent. Miranda warnings are required for custodial interrogation. United States v. Patane, 542 U.S. 630, 639, 124 S.Ct. 2620, 159 L.Ed.2d 667 (2004). We agree with Mr. Glover that he was in custody, having been handcuffed and seated in his house. See Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 440, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984) (noting that Miranda protections apply when one’s freedom of movement is curtailed in a manner consistent with a formal arrest). All this being said, Miranda does not bar the admission of volunteered statements that are not in response to police questioning. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 478, 86 S.Ct. 1602; United States v. Pettigrew, 468 F.3d 626, 633-34 (10th Cir.2006). If Mr. Glover volunteered incriminating statements without prompting by the officers, those statements are not subject to exclusion.

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United States v. Glover, 211 F. App'x 811 (10th Cir. 2007).

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