United States v. Mahabir

831 F. Supp. 1253, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12344, 1993 WL 336601
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedAugust 31, 1993
DocketCrim. No. L-93-022
StatusPublished

This text of 831 F. Supp. 1253 (United States v. Mahabir) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Mahabir, 831 F. Supp. 1253, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12344, 1993 WL 336601 (D. Md. 1993).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

LEGG, District Judge.

This Court is called upon to decide pretrial motions filed by defendant Boysie Mahabir. For the reasons stated herein, Mahabir’s motions are hereby GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

I.FACTS

The original defendants in this case, Boysie Mahabir and Rayford Knight were charged in a two count indictment with conspiracy to distribute cocaine (Count I) and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute (Count II). Knight filed no pre-trial motions, but, at his request, was severed and transferred to the Eastern District of New York in anticipation that he would plead guilty and cooperate with the authorities there. Mahabir filed the following written pre-trial motions, each of which is “boilerplate”, and most of which are inapplicable to the facts of this case:

1. Motion for pre-trial access to witnesses (Paper 31).
2. Motion to exclude and sequester identification witnesses (Paper 32).
3. Motion to suppress tapes (Paper 33).
4. Motion to dismiss indictment (Paper 34). '
5. Motion to suppress evidence (Paper 35).

The Court scheduled an evidentiary hearing (which counsel estimated would be brief) for the afternoon of April 21, 1993. When it became apparent that the hearing would not conclude on the 21st, it was continued on April 22, 1993. Counsel anticipated that the hearing, as continued, would require several additional hours or, at most, “half a day.”

When the hearing did not conclude on the 22nd, it was continued to April 26, 1993. With the express agreement of both counsel, the Court set a time limit under which the hearing was to begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude no later than 6:30 p.m. On the 26th, the start of the hearing, at the request of counsel for Mahabir, was set back several hours, but only upon the express assurance of defense counsel that the hearing would conclude on time.1 At 6:30 p.m. the Court terminated the hearing although Mahabir’s last witness was still on the stand. Mahabir’s counsel objected to the decision to end the hearing before his questioning was exhausted. This Court finds, however, that [1256]*1256Mahabir was not prejudiced because his counsel had exhaustively questioned the witness and was merely “running out the clock.”2

During the hearing, the following witnesses were called:

Officer Kevin Barrows of the Charles County Sheriffs Department;

Carey Grace, whose tractor, when seized, was loaded with almost 300 kilograms of cocaine. Grace, invoicing the Fifth Amendment, declined to answer questions;

Special Agent Donald Canestraro of the Drag Enforcement Agency;

Anthony Johnson, who was arrested while off-loading the cocaine from Grace’s tractor into a pick-up truck that he had driven from Brooklyn, New York in the company of defendant Mahabir. Johnson, invoking the Fifth Amendment, declined to answer questions;

Detective Brian S. Eley of the Charles County Sheriffs Department;

Defendant Boysie Mahabir, who, along with Rayford Knight, operated the company, Boysie Trucking, Inc., which owned the trailer driven by Grace;

Sergeant Wyatt of the Charles County Sheriffs Department, who arrested Mahabir; and

Detective Quentin Gore of the Charles County Sheriffs Department.

At the hearing, Mahabir’s counsel articulated the motions he was pressing, as follows:

1. The arrest of Grace and the seizure of the cocaine were illegal; therefore the tangible evidence seized should be suppressed.

2. At the hearing, Grace and Johnson, who were called by Mahabir, invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions. Mahabir moved the Court to (i) immunize them or (ii) order the government to immunize them so that they could be compelled to testify.

3. The consensually monitored recordings of telephone calls placed by Grace and Johnson should be suppressed.

4. The arrest of Mahabir was illegal and statements made by him at the time of arrest should be suppressed.

5. Statements made by Mahabir when he was questioned by DEA Agent Canestraro and Detective Quentin Gore were involuntary and, therefore, should be suppressed.

6. Evidence seized at 32 Van Houten Avenue, which served jointly as Mahabir’s residence and the office of Boysie Tracking should be suppressed. Mahabir argues that the search warrant was defective and that the search itself was overbroad.

Following the hearing, the Court heard oral argument on May 6, 1993. The rulings stated below supplement oral rulings made from the bench during the hearing and at oral argument.

1. The following boilerplate motions are DISMISSED AS MOOT because, as Mahabir conceded, they are inapplicable to the facts presented in this case:

(i) Motion for pre-trial access to witnesses (Paper 31); and
(ii) Motion to exclude and sequester identification witnesses (Paper 32).

2. The motion to dismiss the indictment (Paper 34) is DENIED. The indictment in the instant case charges Mahabir with conspiracy to distribute cocaine (Count I) and possession with intent to distribute cocaine (Count II). Rule 7(c)(1) of the Fed. R.Crim.P. requires that an indictment “be a plain, concise and definite written statement of the essential fact constituting the offense charged.” The Court finds that the indictment (i) delineates a clear time frame (November 1992 to January 11, 1993), (ii) contains the elements of the offenses charged, (iii)fairly informs the defendant of the charges against him, and (iv) enables him to plead double jeopardy in defense of future prosecutions for the same offenses.

[1257]*1257For these reasons, the indictment is sufficient. See Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87, 94 S.Ct. 2887, 41 L.Ed.2d 590 (1974); United States v. Roman, 728 F.2d 846 (7 Cir.1984), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 977, 104 S.Ct. 2360, 80 L.Ed.2d 832 (1984); United States v. American Waste Fibers Co., 809 F.2d 1044 (4th Cir.1987).

3. Mahabir’s motion to suppress tangible evidence seized from Grace is DENIED.

On January 11, 1993, at approximately 2:48 a.m., Officer Kevin Barrows of the Charles County Sheriffs Department saw a tractor (without a trailer) run a red light on Route 301 at St. Patrick Drive in Waldorf, Maryland. Officer Barrows lawfully stopped the tractor for the purpose of issuing a traffic citation.

The tractor’s driver, Carey Grace, produced a New York driver’s license, which Officer Barrows learned (by calling in the number to headquarters) had been suspended as of October 25, 1992. When Barrows asked Grace whether he knew that his license was suspended, Grace answered that he did, adding that he had neglected to pay a fine.

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Bluebook (online)
831 F. Supp. 1253, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12344, 1993 WL 336601, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mahabir-mdd-1993.