United States v. Michael Mendoza

334 F. App'x 515
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedJune 22, 2009
Docket07-4753
StatusUnpublished

This text of 334 F. App'x 515 (United States v. Michael Mendoza) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third 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 Mendoza, 334 F. App'x 515 (3d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

JORDAN, Circuit Judge.

A jury found Michael Mendoza guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania sentenced him to 240 months in prison and ten years of supervised release. He filed a timely appeal from the District Court’s judgment of conviction and sentence, challenging the Court’s decisions to deny his motion to suppress evidence and to allow the government to admit evidence of his prior drug conviction. Mendoza also alleges that the government denied him due process of law by failing to disclose exculpatory information that it had. Because the District Court did not clearly err by admitting the challenged evidence or abuse its discretion by admitting evidence of a prior conviction, and because Mendoza’s due process argument is not properly before us, we will affirm.

I. Background

On January 5, 2006, law enforcement officers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania conducted surveillance of a residence on Spring Garden Avenue that they suspected was used in the sale of illegal drugs. During the surveillance, officers saw Mendoza leave the residence and drive away in a vehicle with a Texas license plate. Officer Edward Walker followed Mendoza to a residence on Province Street and observed him enter and emerge with a large plastic garbage bag. Mendoza then left in his vehicle, and Walker continued to follow him.

Meanwhile, a police informant entered the Spring Garden residence and purchased a kilogram of cocaine from brothers Dan and Tim Bill. The brothers had previously told the informant that they received their cocaine from Texas. After the controlled buy, officers arrested the Bill brothers and executed a warrant to search the Spring Garden residence. The search yielded six kilograms of cocaine and other evidence of drug trafficking.

Officers at the Spring Garden residence informed Officer Walker of the results of their search, and he promptly caused Mendoza to pull over. Officer Walker approached Mendoza’s car with his gun drawn and ordered Mendoza out of the car. Mendoza complied with the order, and backup officers arrived, prompting Walker to holster his weapon. Walker had his weapon drawn for approximately ten seconds. After Mendoza exited the car, Walker asked him to empty his pockets. Mendoza complied, and one of the backup officers retrieved Mendoza’s identification. When Walker was informed of Mendoza’s name, he recalled having previously arrested Mendoza for cocaine possession. For his own and his fellow officer’s safety, Walker decided to handcuff Mendoza.

Shortly after being handcuffed, Mendoza was given his Miranda warnings. He was then asked for permission to search his car. Mendoza verbally consented to the search and was read a Pennsylvania State Police “Waiver of Rights and Consent to Search” form, which he signed. Officers then searched Mendoza’s car and seized a number of items. A police dog was used in the search and indicated that the vehicle did not contain drugs.

The officers next asked for permission to search the Province Street residence that they had seen Mendoza use. He gave a verbal consent and, after being transported to the residence, signed a US-DOJ/DEA “Consent to Search” form. The officers searched the residence, seized several items, and then took him to the police station for additional questioning. Mendo *517 za was ultimately released while officers reviewed the evidence and questioned the Bill brothers.

The Bill brothers eventually agreed to cooperate with police and identified Mendoza as their source of cocaine. Mendoza was subsequently arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Before trial, Mendoza brought a motion to suppress physical evidence and oral statements attributed to him. The District Court held a suppression hearing and denied Mendoza’s motion.

In another pretrial filing, the government informed Mendoza and the District Court that it planned to present evidence of Mendoza’s prior cocaine-related conviction to prove intent, opportunity, knowledge, identity and the absence of mistake or accident. The government also explained that evidence of the prior conviction was necessary to establish the relationship between Mendoza and Officer Walker. Mendoza objected to the admission of his prior conviction, arguing that it was prejudicial and would be used to show propensity, but the District Court held that the evidence could be admitted.

A jury found Mendoza guilty of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine, and, on December 12, 2007, the District Court entered a judgment against Mendoza imposing a sentence of 240 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release. Mendoza filed a timely appeal. As previously noted, he argues that the District Court erred by admitting evidence obtained during the searches of his car and residence and by allowing the government to introduce evidence of his prior drug conviction. 1 Mendoza also alleges that the government denied him his due process rights by failing to turn over exculpatory evidence.

II. Discussion 2

A. Admission of Physical Evidence

Mendoza consented to the searches of his car and residence but contends that his consent was not voluntary and that the District Court should have suppressed the evidence seized during the searches. Because the question of whether a consent was voluntary is one of fact, we review the District Court’s determinations regarding voluntariness for clear error. United States v. Givan, 320 F.3d 452, 459 (3d Cir.2003) (citation omitted). “Accordingly, ‘if the district court’s account of the evidence is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety,’ we will not reverse it even if, as the trier of fact, we would have weighed the evidence differently.” United States v. Price, 558 F.3d 270, 277 (3d Cir.2009) (quoting Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 573-74, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985)).

In determining whether a consent was voluntary, district courts are to consider the totality of the circumstances, including “the age, education, and intelligence of the subject; whether the subject was advised of his or her constitutional rights; the length of the encounter; the repetition or duration of the questioning; and the use of physical punishment.” Id. at 277 (citing Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 226, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973), and United States v. Kim, 27 F.3d 947, 955 (3d Cir.1994)).

1. Consent to Search the Vehicle

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Related

Schneckloth v. Bustamonte
412 U.S. 218 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Anderson v. City of Bessemer City
470 U.S. 564 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Huddleston v. United States
485 U.S. 681 (Supreme Court, 1988)
United States v. Graciani
61 F.3d 70 (First Circuit, 1995)
United States v. Yong Hyon Kim
27 F.3d 947 (Third Circuit, 1994)
United States v. Carlos Ignacio Vega
285 F.3d 256 (Third Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Price
558 F.3d 270 (Third Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Greenidge
495 F.3d 85 (Third Circuit, 2007)
Fassett v. Delta Kappa Epsilon
807 F.2d 1150 (Third Circuit, 1986)

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