United States v. Lynch

934 F.2d 1226
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 1, 1991
DocketNo. 89-3920
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 934 F.2d 1226 (United States v. Lynch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 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. Lynch, 934 F.2d 1226 (11th Cir. 1991).

Opinion

TJOFLAT, Chief Judge:

The appellant, Earl Charles Lynch, challenges his convictions and sentences for possession with intent to distribute five hundred or more grams of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (1988) and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (1988), and conspiracy to commit this substantive act, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (1988). Lynch seeks a judgment of acquittal on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to convict him. Alternatively, he seeks a new trial, contending that the district court’s failure to exclude certain handguns found in a war-rantless search of his home denied him a fair trial. Finally, he argues that the district court misapplied the Sentencing Guidelines. We disagree and, therefore, affirm Lynch’s convictions and sentences.

I.

This case arises from a six-week narcotics investigation jointly run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. On December 10, 1988, Detective Kenneth Morman, acting undercover for the Tampa police force, met with Steve Warren, a codefendant of the appellant, in Tampa, Florida to discuss the purchase of illegal narcotics. At a second meeting in Pompano Beach, Florida on December 20, Morman purchased samples of Warren’s narcotics; at this meeting, Warren brandished a Mack-11 machine gun at Morman. Morman arranged a final meeting with Warren on January 14, 1989 in Tampa in order to complete the narcotics purchase; Warren planned to sell three kilograms of cocaine to Morman for $73,-500.

Morman picked up Warren at the Tampa airport at 1:00 p.m. on January 14. After Warren counted Morman’s drug money, Warren called Mike Digaralomo, another codefendant, on Morman’s car phone and arranged to finalize the transaction. Digaralomo informed Warren that the drugs had not yet arrived and instructed him to wait with Morman at a motel until he called; Warren and Morman proceeded to the designated motel, and Warren obtained a room. At approximately 10:15 p.m., Digaralomo called Warren at the motel and instructed him to bring Morman to Lynch’s (the appellant’s) home. Upon their arrival at approximately 10:30 p.m., Warren and Morman entered the house; inside were Digaralomo, Lynch, and Lynch’s wife and young daughter. Digaralomo informed them that Jose Rodriguez, another code-fendant, had not arrived with the cocaine. Although Lynch suggested that Morman wait at the house with the money so that the transaction could be completed quickly, Digaralomo instructed Morman to leave Lynch’s home and await Digaralomo’s call on his car phone, which he did. Before-leaving, Morman observed Lynch, Digara-lomo, and Warren smoking marijuana, and he noticed drug paraphernalia and firearm ammunition in the house.

At approximately 11:00 p.m., Warren called Morman to inform him that Rodriguez had arrived with the drugs and to invite Morman to return to Lynch’s home and finish the deal. Morman, however, refused to complete the deal in Lynch’s house and, instead, offered to meet Warren at a neutral location. Warren, in turn, insisted that they conduct the transaction [1227]*1227inside Lynch’s home; he explained that he and his companions felt safe in the house because it was guarded by pit bulls, surrounded by an electric fence, and they had guns there to protect themselves. To try to overcome this impasse, Morman agreed to speak with Warren outside Lynch’s home. They could not resolve their differences at this meeting, however, and both sides called the deal off; Morman then drove Warren back to his motel, dropping him off at approximately 12:00 a.m. on January 15.

Immediately following these events, Mor-man and his superiors decided to arrest the individuals involved in the drug deal. Surveillance units stopped Rodriguez in his car, after he had left Lynch’s home, and arrested him at approximately 1:20 a.m.; a search of Rodriguez’ car produced no cocaine. Morman, accompanied by two other officers, arrested Warren in his motel parking lot at approximately 1:30 a.m.1 At approximately 2:00 a.m., Morman and several other police officers forcibly entered Lynch’s home, without a warrant, and arrested Lynch and Digaralomo; at that time, the police seized two handguns that were in their plain view. After securing the house,2 Morman left, at approximately 2:30 a.m., to obtain a search warrant. He returned with a warrant at 4:00 a.m., at which time the police conducted a full search of the house. This search produced a rifle, various drug paraphernalia, a bag of marijuana, and nine hundred grams of cocaine.

Lynch, along with Rodriguez, Digaralo-mo, and Warren, were charged in a three-count indictment with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute five hundred or more grams of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (count I), possession with the intent to distribute five hundred or more grams of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (count II), and possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (1988) (count III). Lynch pled not guilty.

Lynch, prior to trial, moved to suppress the firearms seized without a warrant from his home. The district court, after holding an evidentiary hearing, concluded that exigent circumstances justified the police’s warrantless entry into Lynch’s home. The court found that the individuals in Lynch’s home posed a dangerous threat to innocent bystanders, the community, and police officers; there was also a real chance that important evidence might be destroyed. Furthermore, the court concluded that it was reasonable to assume that the cocon-spirators waiting in Lynch’s home would become suspicious when Warren and Rodriguez did not return or contact them in some way. Thus, in order to prevent injury and loss of crucial evidence, it was necessary for the police promptly to secure Lynch’s home. Accordingly, the court admitted the handguns into evidence.

The jury convicted Lynch of counts I and II — the conspiracy and possession charges; he was acquitted of count III — possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking offense. Pursuant to the Sentencing Guidelines, a United States probation officer prepared a presentence investigation (PSI) report; Lynch filed timely objections to this report.3 The district court, after address[1228]*1228ing Lynch’s objections, adopted the factual findings contained in the PSI and sentenced Lynch to eighty-seven months of imprisonment for each count, the sentences to run concurrently.

Lynch appeals his convictions and sentences. First, Lynch argues that the evidence produced at trial is insufficient to support his convictions. He claims that the only evidence linking him to the conspiracy is his presence at his home with the code-fendants. The Government, on the other hand, contends that the evidence produced at trial demonstrated that Lynch knew that cocaine was in his home, and that he participated in the drug transaction.

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Bluebook (online)
934 F.2d 1226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-lynch-ca11-1991.