United States v. Leonard

17 F.4th 218
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit·Decided November 3, 2021·No. 19-1392P·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit

No. 19-1392 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee,

v.

TONY LEONARD, a/k/a Tom Cat, a/k/a Thomas Lee Jones, Defendant, Appellant.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

[Hon. George Z. Singal, U.S. District Judge]

Before

Kayatta, Barron, Circuit Judges, and O'Toole, District Judge.

Robert F. Hennessy for appellant.

Julia M. Lipez, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Halsey B. Frank, United States Attorney, was on brief, for appellee.

November 3, 2021

Of the District of Massachusetts, sitting by designation.

O'TOOLE, District Judge. Defendant-appellant Tony Leonard entered a conditional guilty plea pursuant to Rule 11(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Prior to entering his plea, Leonard had moved to suppress evidence seized from a search of his residence. He requested a Franks hearing1 on the ground that the affidavit in support of the warrant that authorized the search omitted material information that, if it had been included, would defeat a finding of probable cause. The district court denied the motion in a summary order. Leonard appeals the district court's rejection of his request for a Franks hearing.

We conclude that the district court did not err in denying Leonard a Franks hearing. Accordingly, we affirm that ruling.

I. BACKGROUND

In August 2017, Lewiston (Maine) Police Department ("LPD") Patrolman Zachary Provost submitted an affidavit in support of an application for a state search warrant during the course of an investigation into suspected drug possession, furnishing, and/or trafficking by Leonard. Provost had been employed for five years by the LPD. He was assigned to the plain- clothes Special Enforcement Team, and he had completed several

1 So called because the type of hearing derives from Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978).

training courses related to drug enforcement and had participated in numerous drug investigations.

Provost sought a warrant to search Leonard himself and his residence located at 41 Walnut Street, Lewiston, for drugs, drug paraphernalia, firearms, and other evidence. His affidavit identified both Apartment #2 and Apartment #3 at that location as Leonard's residence. The apartments were described as being located in an off-white multi-unit apartment building directly above the Midtown Athletic Club. In support of his warrant application, Provost provided information said to have been received from three confidential informants or "CIs."2 CI-1 provided information in the hope of favorable consideration in a pending criminal case involving violation of conditions of release and drug-related offenses. CI-1 also had prior arrests for bail violations and false public alarm. Nonetheless, Provost wrote that CI-1 had "been proven reliable by providing me with information that I have deemed credible from prior investigations."

CI-1 informed Provost that a person nicknamed "TOMCAT"

lived above the “Midtown” and was dealing "[c]rack." Provost knew

2 In the affidavit, Provost refers to all the confidential informants simply as "CI." For clarity, this opinion refers to the CI who provided information to Provost as CI-1, the CI who provided information to the other LPD officer as CI-2, and the CI who provided information to an agent of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency as CI-3.

from prior experience that Leonard used the street name "TOMCAT," had a prior conviction for drug trafficking, and had recently been released from prison. Existing internal LPD records confirmed Leonard's use of the alias and identified 41 Walnut Street #3 as his residence. Additionally, a review of his prior criminal history confirmed that Leonard had numerous convictions for drug possession and trafficking.

CI-1 reported to Provost that TOMCAT had apartments on the second and third floors. He stated that the second-floor apartment was the "TRAP" spot that was unfurnished except for a folding card table and was commonly used as a "[p]arty [s]pot." He reported that TOMCAT lived in the third-floor apartment with his girlfriend.

CI-1 further stated that TOMCAT had video monitoring devices in the hallways. TOMCAT had access to the surveillance equipment at all times and typically watched it while dealing "[c]rack [c]ocaine." CI-1 had seen TOMCAT in possession of a pistol and ammunition and, within a week or so before the warrant application, had observed TOMCAT packaging "[c]rack [c]ocaine" for distribution inside the second-floor apartment. He reported that TOMCAT kept his firearm and narcotics on the second floor, but he did not know where TOMCAT kept his drug proceeds.

During the course of the investigation, Provost received information from another LPD Officer about another registered

confidential informant, CI-2. According to the other officer, CI- 2 had prior arrests for theft, operating after a suspension, and forgery, but had previously provided information that was deemed credible by police and had led to an arrest. CI-2 claimed to be interested in reducing drug trafficking in the city because drugs had "directly affected this CI's life."

CI-2 provided information to the police that TOMCAT was staying at 41 Walnut Street and was dealing "HARD," which Provost knew from his experience was a street term for crack cocaine. CI- 2 stated he could purchase "[c]rack [c]ocaine" from TOMCAT at any time. On August 14, 2017, CI-2 reported that TOMCAT lived in the third-floor apartment, but utilized the second-floor apartment to deal "[c]rack." CI-2 reported there was constant foot traffic coming and going from the rear door of the building and that TOMCAT was often seen standing in the rear parking lot. CI-2 also stated that the residence was equipped with video surveillance.

On August 15, 2017, Provost spoke with an agent of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, who informed him that agents had recently made contact with CI-3, a cooperating defendant. CI-3 reported to them that TOMCAT was the largest drug trafficker in the area. CI-3 stated that TOMCAT had apartments on the second and third floors above the "Midtown Bar" on Walnut Street. CI-3 further stated that TOMCAT's customers typically used the rear entrance located on Bartlett Street. CI-3 had recently observed

approximately 1.5 ounces of "[c]rack [c]ocaine" and 1 ounce of "[c]ocaine HCL" in the apartment, where he had also previously observed firearms. CI-3 did not know who owned the firearms.

Shortly before Provost applied for the warrant, the LPD conducted a controlled purchase of cocaine from Leonard, utilizing one of the confidential informants.3 According to the affidavit, officers searched the CI for contraband and equipped him with an electronic recording and monitoring device. Officers followed the CI to the parking lot at 41 Walnut Street, where the CI made contact with Leonard. The CI observed Leonard enter the back door leading to both the second- and third-floor apartments and return moments later. The CI provided TOMCAT with pre-counted, recorded United States currency in exchange for a quantity of cocaine. After the buy, the CI turned over cocaine to a detective. A field test indicated the presence of Cocaine HCL.

On August 16, 2017, a state court judge issued the warrant to search Apartments #2 and #3 at 41 Walnut Street. The next day, LPD officers executed the search warrant. Officers found Leonard inside the third-floor apartment. Nearby was a jacket which contained a handgun and magazine. Officers also found cocaine, crack cocaine, more than $10,000 in U.S. currency, and a key that opened the second-floor apartment. In the second-floor apartment,

3 The affidavit does not identify which of the three CIs made the purchase.

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United States v. Leonard, 17 F.4th 218 (1st Cir. 2021).

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