United States v. John A. Robinson

984 F.2d 911, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 1190, 1993 WL 13501
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 26, 1993
Docket91-3664
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 984 F.2d 911 (United States v. John A. Robinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth 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. John A. Robinson, 984 F.2d 911, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 1190, 1993 WL 13501 (8th Cir. 1993).

Opinions

FLOYD R. GIBSON, Senior Circuit Judge.

John Robinson entered a conditional plea of guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine and possessing cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. He appeals the district court’s 1 denial of his motion to suppress evidence seized during a search of his luggage at the Amtrack train station. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On the morning of November 30, 1990, Robinson arrived at the Kansas City Am-track station on the 7:15 a.m. train from Los Angeles. Kansas City, Missouri police detectives Pat Sola and Randolph Hopkins were on drug interdiction duty at the Am-track station and watched the passengers of the Los Angeles train disembark and enter the lobby. Detective Sola saw Robinson enter the lobby carrying a gray bag and a floral bag. Robinson walked twice around the lobby, stopped to make a phone call at a pay phone that he had walked by earlier, and entered the men’s restroom. After Robinson had been in the restroom for at least five minutes, Detective Hopkins entered the restroom and heard Robinson say that he was on his way to St. Louis. Hopkins told Sola what he had observed and Sola waited for Robinson to exit the restroom. Approximately ten minutes later Robinson left the restroom, looked around the lobby several times and sat down in a lobby chair, placing the floral bag under his seat and the gray bag at his feet. Sola approached Robinson and asked if he could talk to him. Robinson agreed and Sola showed Robinson his badge and sat in the chair next to him. Sola told Robinson that he regularly talked to Am-track passengers and again asked if Robinson had the time to talk to him. Robinson agreed. Sola then asked to see Robinson’s ticket, which was a one-way ticket from Los Angeles to St. Louis in the name of John Jones. The connecting train was scheduled to depart at 9:15 a.m.

When Sola asked Robinson for identification, Sola noticed that Robinson appeared very nervous and seemed to have difficulty swallowing. Robinson was unable to locate any identification and stated that his • name was John Robinson and he lived in Lynwood, California. When asked whom he was going to visit in St. Louis, he said he was visiting his favorite aunt. At this point Sola asked if he could search Robinson’s luggage for narcotics, to which Robinson answered “No.” Sola then told Robinson that he would order a narcotics-trained canine to sniff his luggage. Robinson said that he “did not want a dog” and told Sola to go ahead and look in the luggage. Sola told Robinson that he did not have to give permission to search the bags but Robinson said that Sola could search the bags.

Sola began searching the floral bag and discovered a heavy gift-wrapped package with no card attached. He asked Robinson who the gift was for and he replied that it was for his aunt but he did not know what it contained because his mother had wrapped the package. Sola asked Robinson if he could open the package and Rob[913]*913inson replied “okay.” Sola discovered a Purex box that appeared to have an excessive amount of glue on the box top. Sola asked if he could open the Purex box to check for narcotics and Robinson said he could. When Sola opened the box, he discovered a clear plastic bag containing a substance that appeared to be cocaine. Sola placed Robinson under arrest and read Robinson his Miranda2 rights.

Robinson was charged in a two-count indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846. Robinson filed a motion to suppress the cocaine found in his bag. After an evidentiary hearing, the magistrate judge3 recommended that the motion to suppress be denied because the encounter between Robinson and Sola was consensual and the cocaine was not a product of an illegal detention. The district court adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation and denied Robinson’s motion to suppress the evidence. Robinson entered a conditional plea of guilty, expressly reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress the evidence.

II. DISCUSSION

On appeal, Robinson contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress because any evidence obtained by law enforcement officials was the product of an illegal detention. He contends the encounter with Detectives Sola and Hopkins was not consensual and the officers lacked reasonable and articulable suspicion to justify his detention in the Amtrack terminal. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1880, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Robinson also contends the illegal seizure tainted the subsequent search of his luggage and the seized evidence must be suppressed as fruit of the poisonous tree. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 487-88, 83 S.Ct. 407, 417, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963). The government argues the entire encounter was consensual and Robinson was not seized within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.

The initial encounter between Robinson and Detective Sola was clearly consensual. The meeting took place in a public area. Officer Sola was not in uniform, nor did he display a weapon or show any force. Detective Sola identified himself as a police officer and asked if he could speak to Robinson; Robinson replied “yes.” Sola then asked Robinson where he was going, asked to see his train ticket, and asked for identification. Robinson agreed to answer Detective Sola’s questions, which did not implicate the Fourth Amendment merely because Sola was a law enforcement officer. Florida v. Bostick, — U.S. -, -, 111 S.Ct. 2382, 2386, 115 L.Ed.2d 389 (1991). In Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983) (plurality opinion), the Supreme Court explained that “law enforcement officers do not violate the Fourth Amendment by merely approaching an individual on the street or in another public place, by asking him if he is willing to answer some questions, by putting questions to him if the person is willing to listen, or by offering in evidence in a criminal prosecution his voluntary answers to such questions.” Id. at 497, 103 S.Ct. at 1324.

Robinson argues that even if the initial encounter was consensual, it escalated into an investigative stop when he refused to allow Sola to search his luggage. “We adhere to the rule that, in order to determine whether a particular encounter constitutes á seizure, a court must consider all the circumstances surrounding the encounter to determine whether the police conduct would have communicated to a reasonable person that the person was not free to decline the officers’ requests or otherwise terminate the encounter.” Bostick, — U.S. at - 111 S.Ct. at 2389. “So long as a reasonable person would feel free 'to disregard the police and go about [914]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Taurean Hayden
Seventh Circuit, 2010
United States v. Hayden
389 F. App'x 544 (Seventh Circuit, 2010)
United States v. Ellis
501 F.3d 958 (Eighth Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Jerome Ellis
Eighth Circuit, 2007
United States v. Marasco
446 F. Supp. 2d 1073 (D. Nebraska, 2006)
United States v. Hathcock
103 F.3d 715 (Eighth Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Sandra McCarthur
6 F.3d 1270 (Seventh Circuit, 1993)
United States v. John A. Robinson
984 F.2d 911 (Eighth Circuit, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
984 F.2d 911, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 1190, 1993 WL 13501, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-john-a-robinson-ca8-1993.