United States v. Guillermo Arango

966 F.2d 64, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 12556, 1992 WL 114894
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedJune 2, 1992
Docket1500, Docket 92-1050
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 966 F.2d 64 (United States v. Guillermo Arango) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second 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. Guillermo Arango, 966 F.2d 64, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 12556, 1992 WL 114894 (2d Cir. 1992).

Opinion

FEINBERG, Circuit Judge:

Guillermo Arango appeals from a judgment of conviction in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, John R. Bartels, J., after a plea of guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Arango was sentenced to 63 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He contends that be pled guilty to possessing only one kilogram of cocaine but that his sentence was erroneously based on an additional four kilograms obtained in an illegal search and seizure. Ar-ango argues that the district court erred in refusing to hold a sentencing hearing to determine whether the evidence was illegally seized and whether the seizure was made for the express purpose of sentence enhancement. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.

I. Background

In November 1990, a confidential informant arranged to buy two kilograms of cocaine from Arango’s co-defendants. The informant met the co-defendants in an apartment where he was shown one kilogram of cocaine. The co-defendants told the informant that another kilogram would arrive later. Thereafter, Arango arrived in a van, removed a package containing one kilogram of cocaine from the rear of the van and delivered the package to the apartment. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents then entered the apartment and arrested Arango and his co-defendants. The agents subsequently recovered an additional four kilograms of cocaine from Ar-ango’s van.

On March 28, 1991, Arango agreed to a Stipulation of Facts for Sentencing, which stated that he took one kilogram of cocaine into the apartment and that “[f]our additional kilos were later found in Arango’s van.” The Stipulation also stated that “[t]he government has no evidence of the source” of the one kilogram that had been shown to the informant before Arango arrived at the apartment. Thereafter, on the same day, Arango pled guilty to a one-count superseding information, charging him with possession of an unspecified amount of cocaine with intent to distribute. At no time prior to his plea did Arango move to suppress the four kilograms of cocaine found in his van.

After receiving a copy of the presentence report, which stated that five kilograms of cocaine were involved in Arango’s offense, Arango submitted a letter to the district court in September 1991 challenging various aspects of the presentence report. Ar-ango argued that the court should, in its discretion, not consider the cocaine found in his van because it was seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In December 1991, the government objected by letter to what it characterized as Arango’s untimely attempt to move to suppress the cocaine seized from the van. Alternatively, the government argued that Arango had to show that the agents seized the cocaine with the express purpose of improperly influencing the sentencing judge.

At sentencing in January 1992, Arango again claimed that the court had the discretion to, and should, ignore the four kilograms found in the van. The government argued that the court had to consider the four kilograms even if the evidence was illegally seized, unless Arango could show that the agents seized the cocaine with the intent of improperly influencing the court in imposing a sentence, which it maintained Arango had failed to do. On this claim, Arango argued that if he raised a “color-able issue” as to the agents’ intent, then an evidentiary hearing was required. In support of his position, Arango’s counsel claimed that all DEA agents know that the heavier the weight of the drugs seized, the longer the sentence.

Judge Bartels rejected Arango’s request to hold an evidentiary hearing and sentenced Arango based on a finding that the *66 offense involved five kilograms of cocaine. This appeal followed.

II. Discussion

On appeal, Arango renews his argument that the district court was required to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the cocaine from the van was seized illegally for the express purpose of enhancing his sentence. Arango relies on a recent opinion of this court, United States v. Tejada, 956 F.2d 1256 (2d Cir.1992), which was decided a month after he was sentenced. Tejada held that “[a]bsent a showing that officers obtained evidence expressly to enhance a sentence, a district judge may not refuse to consider relevant evidence at sentencing, even if that evidence has been seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment.” Id. at 1263.

Arango contends that Tejada focuses solely on the intent of the officers in illegally seizing evidence, and that the only way to determine the officers’ intent is to question them. Therefore, an evidentiary hearing is required. Arango points out that the determination of whether the Fourth Amendment has been violated turns on objective facts such as whether there were sufficient facts for finding probable cause. Arango maintains that unlike that objective inquiry, determining motive is a purely subjective inquiry. Therefore, his argument proceeds, a defendant will be unable to make the type of preliminary showing ordinarily required to obtain an evidentiary hearing and will only be able to make general allegations. But see Wade v. United States, - U.S. -, -, 112 S.Ct. 1840, 1844, 118 L.Ed.2d 524 (U.S.1992) (“generalized allegations of improper motive” insufficient to require discovery or an evidentiary hearing at sentencing to show prosecutor’s refusal to file a substantial-assistance motion was based on an unconstitutional motive).

Arango further argues that even if a suppression hearing had been held prior to his guilty plea, the relevant issue for sentencing — whether the agents searched the van with the purpose of enhancing Aran-go’s sentence — would not have been reached. He contends that the sole issue at the suppression hearing would have been whether the agents had probable cause for the warrantless search of the van; the agents’ subjective motives for searching the van would not have been relevant. Thus, Arango argues, the district court would have still found it necessary at sentencing to determine the agents’ motives.

Arango’s argument overlooks an important prerequisite to obtaining a hearing on the. agents’ subjective intent in searching the van. Arango first had to establish that the search of the van violated the Fourth Amendment. By pleading guilty, however, Arango waived his right to object to the constitutionality of the search of the van. See Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 267, 93 S.Ct. 1602, 1608, 36 L.Ed.2d 235 (1973) (guilty plea ordinarily waives constitutional claims relating to deprivation of rights occurring prior to the guilty plea); United States v. Doyle, 348 F.2d 715, 718 (2d Cir.) (guilty plea waives all non-jurisdictional defects), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 843, 86 S.Ct. 89, 15 L.Ed.2d 84 (1965).

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Bluebook (online)
966 F.2d 64, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 12556, 1992 WL 114894, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-guillermo-arango-ca2-1992.