United States v. Michael Kelly Robinson

625 F.2d 1211, 1980 U.S. App. LEXIS 13990
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 17, 1980
Docket79-5252
StatusPublished
Cited by70 cases

This text of 625 F.2d 1211 (United States v. Michael Kelly Robinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth 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. Michael Kelly Robinson, 625 F.2d 1211, 1980 U.S. App. LEXIS 13990 (5th Cir. 1980).

Opinion

RANDALL, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal from a conviction in a nonjury trial for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Appellant Robinson moved to suppress the introduction at trial of the cocaine on the ground that it had been seized at the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in violation of his fourth amendment rights. After a hearing, the magistrate recommended that the motion to suppress be denied, and the district court adopted the magistrate’s findings and recommendation without a hearing. Robinson waived jury trial and was tried and found guilty on stipulated facts. This appeal followed.

Facts and Proceedings Below

The hearing before the magistrate on the motion to suppress the cocaine focused on the manner in which the cocaine had been obtained from Robinson by the DEA agents. On the basis of the testimony presented at the hearing, the magistrate made the following findings of fact with respect to the seizure of the cocaine:

1. On September 21, 1978, DEA Agent[s] Paul Markonni and Michael L. Dorsett were on duty at the Atlanta Airport observing passengers at the arrival gate of Flight 1122, a non-stop flight from Miami, Florida.
*1213 2. At approximately 3:15 p. m., Agent Markonni’s attention became focused upon [Robinson] when Agent Dorsett informed him that [Robinson] had exited from the doorway leading from the airplane, and that he stared directly at the two DEA Agents, appeared to be nervous and perspiring, and was looking around the arrival area unlike the other passengers.
3. Agent Markonni first saw [Robinson] while he was walking up Concourse “F” towards the main terminal, carrying only a standard size briefcase, and then observed him turn around several seconds later and return to the Delta gate agent to ask about his connecting flight to Birmingham, Alabama.
4. After receiving directions for his Birmingham flight, [Robinson] walked up the concourse 10 or 11 feet, and then turned and stared directly at Markonni. He then walked further up the concourse, only to again pause and stare at Markon-ni, and then proceeded to Gate 61 and not Gate 53, the proper gate for his Birmingham flight which was 50-60 feet further up the concourse, and around the corner.
5. Agent Markonni secreted himself behind the desk at Gate 53, and observed [Robinson] speak to the gate agent and then walk slowly in the area of the connector to the main terminal.
6. [Robinson] reached the area of the security checkpoint area of the main terminal, stopped, and returned back to the concourse, appearing to hesitate going down the stairs adjacent to the security checkpoint.
7. Agent Markonni then walked up beside [Robinson] and was able to observe [Robinson’s] airplane ticket that he carried strapped to his briefcase and he noticed no baggage claim tickets attached to the airplane ticket.
8. Agent Markonni then identified himself as a federal officer to [Robinson], showed him his credentials, and asked whether he could see his airline ticket.
9. [Robinson] gave Markonni his ticket as requested, which revealed that it was issued in the name Michael Reilly, which [Robinson] explained by saying he had borrowed the ticket. [Robinson] also produced a driver’s license in the name of Michael Robinson.
10. [Robinson] denied to Agent Mar-konni that he was carrying narcotics, and further consented to Markonni’s request that he permit a brief search of his person and briefcase.
11. Markonni then asked whether [Robinson] would accompany him to a downstairs office (not identified as the police precinct office), so as to avoid the public observing the search, to which [Robinson] also agreed, and in addition, [Robinson] placed his briefcase on a table, and asked whether Markonni wished to search it.
12. Markonni deferred searching the briefcase at this point, and instead proceeded with [Robinson] to the downstairs precinct office approximately 125 feet, or 3 minutes away from the point of the initial stop.
13. Upon reaching the precinct office, Officer E. W. White accompanied Mar-konni and [Robinson] to an adjacent office at Markonni’s request.
14. [Robinson] was again requested to allow a search of his person and personal property, and was read the following from a card carried by Markonni:
You have the right to allow or refuse to allow a search to be made of your person and personal property that you have with you. Do you understand?
15. [Robinson] replied that he understood his rights and consented to the search.
16. Markonni’s initial patdown search of [Robinson] revealed nothing unusual, nor did his subsequent search of [Robinson’s] briefcase.
17. Markonni’s suspicions regarding [Robinson] persisted, and he again searched [Robinson’s] person, this time noticing something unusual beneath [Robinson’s] clothing, in the area of his lower abdomen.
*1214 18. At no time during the search did [Robinson] indicate a desire to discontinue the search, nor was he ever told he was under arrest, or prohibited from leaving or coerced into consenting to be searched.
19. [Robinson] was then told to drop his trousers, and Markonni further satisfied himself that there was something unusual inside a blue and white paraplegic diaper worn by [Robinson], which was recovered by Markonni and was revealed to be a package of cocaine wrapped in tape. [Robinson] was then placed under arrest.

Record on Appeal, Vol. 1, at 17-19 (citations to hearing transcript omitted).

The magistrate made four findings with respect to the legality of the seizure of the cocaine. First, relying on United States v. Ballard, 573 F.2d 913 (5th Cir. 1978), a case in which an initial encounter between DEA agents and a defendant similar to the initial encounter in this case was assumed to be an investigatory (Terry) 1 stop requiring reasonable suspicion, the magistrate treated the initial encounter between Markonni and Robinson as a Terry stop. Second, the magistrate determined that the three facts known to Markonni at the time of the investigatory stop which matched elements of the “drug courier profile” 2 — (1) Robinson’s nervousness, (2) his arrival from a major drug distribution center, and (3) his lack of luggage other than a briefcase — were insufficient to justify a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

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Bluebook (online)
625 F.2d 1211, 1980 U.S. App. LEXIS 13990, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-michael-kelly-robinson-ca5-1980.