United States v. Patterson

64 F. App'x 727
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedMay 29, 2003
Docket02-3353
StatusUnpublished

This text of 64 F. App'x 727 (United States v. Patterson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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. Patterson, 64 F. App'x 727 (10th Cir. 2003).

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.

Defendant Antjuan Patterson pled guilty to possession of a firearm following conviction of misdemeanor domestic battery, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). As part of his plea, Defendant reserved the right to appeal the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress a .45 caliber pistol *728 seized from his residence. At sentencing, Defendant objected to a reference in the Presentence Report to his alleged gang membership. The district court overruled the objection. Defendant appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress and the court’s refusal to strike the gang reference from the Presentence Report. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm.

I.

On October 23, 2001, a shooting occurred at “Shooters,” a bar in Topeka, Kansas. Police officers responding to the scene found a number of spent shell casings, indicating that a semiautomatic or automatic weapon had been used in the shooting. The officers interviewed witnesses at the scene. One witness provided a description of the gunman and second person accompanying the gunman. The witness also stated that the gunman had used a weapon with two handles. The victim of the shooting, John Wenger, told officers the weapon was a dark-colored or black semiautomatic handgun.

Wenger also named Defendant as the person accompanying the gunman at the time of the shooting. From a photo lineup of possible suspects, Wenger again identified Defendant as the person accompanying the gunman. After the identification, officers traveled to Defendant’s residence and knocked on the door. A man matching the witnesses’ description of the gunman answered the door. Police later identified the man as Louis Pillay. In Pillay’s presence, officers questioned Defendant about the shooting. Defendant eventually named Pillay as the gunman. During the interview, Defendant also advised officers he possessed a silver .45 caliber handgun at his residence. The officers arrested Pillay and transported him to the police station for questioning. Defendant agreed to accompany officers to the station.

At the station, Defendant provided a written statement implicating Pillay in the shooting. Defendant did not provide information on the location of the weapon. After questioning, Pillay confessed to the shooting. When officers questioned him about the location of the weapon used in the shooting, Pillay initially indicated he did not know the weapon’s location. Subsequently, Pillay asserted he had thrown the weapon from the vehicle after the shooting. Finally, Pillay told officers the weapon was buried under a doghouse at Defendant’s residence.

Officers prepared an affidavit and obtained a search warrant for Defendant’s residence. The search warrant authorized officers to search for a “semiautomatic handgun, ammunition, magazines and any other item associated with the attempted murder of John Webber (sic).” The affidavit accompanying the warrant described the items to be seized as a black semiautomatic handgun, ammunition, magazines and any other items associated with the attempted murder of John Wenger, and items that would identify persons residing at the premises, including rent receipts and correspondence. In executing the search warrant, officers found a nine-millimeter, black, semiautomatic handgun under the doghouse. After further search, officers also found and seized a .45 caliber silver handgun inside the residence.

Defendant filed a motion to suppress the .45 caliber pistol seized from his residence asserting the warrant was overly broad and that officers exceeded the scope of the warrant. The district court held an evidentiary hearing on Defendant’s motion at which several officers involved in the investigation testified. Following the hearing, the district court denied Defendant’s motion.

*729 II.

In reviewing the district court’s denial of a motion to suppress, this Court accepts the district court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous, and views the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government. United States v. White, 326 F.3d 1135, 1137 (10th Cir.2003). We review de novo the district court’s legal conclusions. Id.

A.

Defendant first asserts the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress because the warrant authorizing the search of his residence was overly broad. The Fourth Amendment requires warrants “particularly describing the place to be search, and the persons or things to be seized.” U.S. Const. amend. IV. A sufficiently particular warrant “allows the searcher to reasonably ascertain and identify the things authorized to be seized, leaving nothing to the officer’s discretion as to what is to be seized, so that the officer is prevented from generally rummaging through a person’s belongings.” United States v. Guidry, 199 F.3d 1150, 1154 (10th Cir.1999). A warrant describing items to be seized in broad and generic terms may be valid “when the description is as specific as the circumstances and the nature of the activity under investigation permit.” Id. (quoting United States v. Leary, 846 F.2d 592, 600 (10th Cir.1988)).

Defendant argues the warrant was overly broad because it did not describe the weapon to be seized with the detail provided by the eye witnesses, and did not limit the search to the location Pillay provided during questioning. During the evidentiary hearing, officers testified that, in their experience, witness descriptions of a crime weapon are often affected by the stress of experiencing a violent crime, low fighting, and the chaotic nature of a shooting, all factors present in this case. The officers also noted that the witnesses’ descriptions of the crime weapon were not entirely consistent. Thus, the officers testified they did not describe the weapon to be seized with more detail because they were not entirely comfortable with the accuracy of the witnesses’ description. Officers also testified they did not include information on the likely location of the weapon because they were not confident Pillay’s answer was truthful. Officers noted that Pillay provided three different answers when asked the location of the weapon used in the shooting. They also noted Defendant did not provide any information on the location of the weapon, and testified that they were not yet confident his role in the shooting was as limited as he claimed.

The district court found the officers’ testimony credible. Specifically, the court ruled the description contained in the search warrant was based upon the best information available and the officers’ experienced evaluation of which details were reliable. Given the officers’ testimony, the district court did not err in concluding the warrant was not overly broad. 1

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Related

United States v. Guidry
199 F.3d 1150 (Tenth Circuit, 1999)
United States v. White
326 F.3d 1135 (Tenth Circuit, 2003)
United States v. James Valdez
158 F.3d 1140 (Tenth Circuit, 1998)

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Bluebook (online)
64 F. App'x 727, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-patterson-ca10-2003.