United States v. Odum

625 F.2d 626
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 10, 1980
DocketNo. 79-5416
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 625 F.2d 626 (United States v. Odum) 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. Odum, 625 F.2d 626 (5th Cir. 1980).

Opinion

HATCHETT, Circuit Judge:

Each of the ten appellants herein was convicted on Count I for conspiracy to knowingly and intentionally possess marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and on Count II for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). David Coleman Butler was also convicted on Count III for unlawfully using a firearm during the commission of the above enumerated offenses, and on Count IV for unlawfully carrying a firearm during the commission of those same offenses, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Terry Allen Smith was also convicted on Count V for unlawfully carrying a firearm during the commission of the first two enumerated offenses, and on Count VI for unlawfully using a firearm during the commission of those same offenses, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). In this opinion, we reverse the convictions against Terry Lee Odum on Counts I and II; vacate the sentence imposed for the conviction of Ennis Boyd Taylor on Count I and remand for resentencing; vacate the sentences imposed for convictions on Counts III through VI and remand for resentencing; and affirm in all other respects.

On the night of February 2, 1979, in Darien, Georgia, a citizen reported seeing suspicious activity near the city bridge on the Darien River. Between nine and ten o’clock that night, Terry Allen Smith, was driving south on U.S. Highway 17 in a 1969 International Harvester Loadstar 1600 truck. After crossing a bridge which spans the Darien River just south of Darien, Smith was stopped by an officer of the Darien City Police Department for driving with an expired license tag. Smith was arrested and taken to the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office in Darien. The truck was left on the side of the road. Smith would not give law enforcement officers permission to search the truck. A search warrant was obtained and several officers returned to the truck with Smith, where other officers were waiting. Upon opening the rear of the truck, the officers discovered some 218 bales of suspected marijuana. Officers of the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Department then proceeded to Ploeger’s Dock, a dock area on the Darien River near the point where Smith was stopped on U.S. Highway 17 and in the area where the suspicious activity had been reported. The officers did not obtain a warrant to search Ploeger’s Dock. More suspected marijuana was found in a tractor-trailer rig parked at the dock and on the shrimp boat “Murray’s Pride”, tied up at the dock. All but three of the remaining defendants were arrested either in the immediate vicinity of the dock or attempting to flee the area. Willie James Holmes was arrested at a nearby hotel; Odum was arrested after being found in a Volkswagon automobile near the bridge; and Butler was arrested on February 3, 1979 after his surrender.

At a pre-trial suppression hearing on June 8, 1979, the defendants sought to suppress the evidence obtained from the search of the Loadstar truck, and Ploeger’s Dock, including the tractor-trailer, and the vessel “Murray’s Pride.” The government did not contest the attack on the validity of the search warrant for the truck. Defendants contended that a warrantless search of the truck would have been invalid for lack of probable cause or exigent circumstances. The other searches were alleged to have been carried out without probable cause.

Terry Allen Smith testified at the suppression hearing that on February 1, 1979, at a convenience store between Savannah and Shellman’s Bluff, Georgia, he met an individual whose name he never discovered but who offered to pay Smith an unstated amount of money to drive a truck on the . following evening. They agreed that Smith [628]*628would meet this individual at a convenience store on the following evening. The meeting took place as planned, and Smith rode with this unnamed individual to another convenience store where the truck was parked. Smith was instructed to drive the truck south on U.S. Highway 17 until stopped outside of Brunswick, Georgia, some sixty miles to the south, where he would be relieved of the truck. Smith was not informed of the identity of the person or persons who would stop him or of the precise location for the rendezvous. Smith assumed, without reaching an explicit understanding, that after being intercepted near Brunswick and after relinquishing control of the truck, he would be driven back to the first convenience store.

Smith was the driver and sole occupant of the Loadstar truck when it was stopped on the night of February 2, 1979. He disclaimed any proprietary interest in the truck or its cargo. He denied knowing who owned the truck or that the truck was loaded with contraband.

It was also adduced at the suppression hearing that no defendant had any record interest in the approximately one and one-third acres known as Ploeger’s Dock. The McIntosh County Development Authority holds the fee simple title to the land, but its deed was not recorded until February 16, 1969. On February 2, 1979, there was an outstanding lease to the Darien Waterfront Association, an unincorporated association devoted to promoting development in the waterfront area for the public benefit. No defendant attempted to show that he was a member of this organization.

The trial court found that all of the defendants lacked standing to challenge the legality of either search because no defendant demonstrated a legitimate expectation of privacy which was violated by the searches. The defendants all sought to suppress evidence in reliance upon the “automatic standing” rule in Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 80 S.Ct. 725, 4 L.Ed.2d 697 (1960), overruled by United States v. Salvucci,-U.S.-, 100 S.Ct. 2547, 65 L.Ed.2d - (1980). Jones held that a defendant charged with a crime that includes, as an essential element of the offense charged, possession of the seized evidence at the time of the contested search and seizure has automatic standing to challenge the legality of the search and seizure.

We uphold the decision of the district court by reliance upon United States v. Salvucci, which overrules the “automatic standing” rule in Jones v. United States. “We simply decline to use possession of a seized good as a substitute for a factual finding that the owner of the good had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the area searched.” United States v. Salvucci at,-U.S.-, 100 S.Ct. at 2553. According to the Supreme Court, the appropriate inquiry now is “not merely whether the defendant had a possessory interest in the items seized, but whether he had an expectation of privacy in the area searched.” Id.

ODUM

Terry Lee Odum contends that the evidence used to convict him is insufficient to prove that he either possessed or entered into a conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute, as charged in Counts I and II.

To assess the sufficiency of evidence in criminal cases we view the evidence, and all inferences that may reasonably be drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the government. Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60

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625 F.2d 626, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-odum-ca5-1980.