United States v. Rehaif

178 F. Supp. 3d 1275, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44831, 2016 WL 1337265
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedApril 1, 2016
DocketCASE NO: 6:16-cr-3-Orl-28DAB
StatusPublished

This text of 178 F. Supp. 3d 1275 (United States v. Rehaif) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Rehaif, 178 F. Supp. 3d 1275, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44831, 2016 WL 1337265 (M.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

JOHN ANTOONII, United States District Judge

A grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Defendant Hamid Mohamed Ahmed Ali Rehaif — a citizen of the United Arab Emirates who was in the United States on a student visa — with the offenses of Illegal Alien in Possession of a Firearm and Illegal Alien in Possession of Ammunition. (Doc. 13).1 Defendant’s Motion to Suppress (Doc. 29) seeks to exclude from evidence Defendant’s responses to questions asked by federal law enforcement officers and derivative evidence seized by the officers. Deciding the merits of the motion requires that I determine whether a reasonable innocent person in Defendant’s position would believe that he was free to terminate the questioning and leave. Taking into account the totality of the circumstances in this case, I answer that question in the affirmative. Therefore, Defendant’s Motion to Suppress (Doc, 29) must be denied.

I.

On December 8, 2015, at about 10:00 a.m., the Melbourne Police Department received a call from the manager of the nearby Hilton Rialto Hotel. The manager reported that Defendant’s behavior was suspicious and then provided details supporting that conclusion. Defendant had been a guest for over 50 days, checking in [1277]*1277every evening and checking out the next day. He always requested á room on the eighth floor with a view of the Melbourne International Airport which is nearby. Defendant paid for the room with cash, and by the time of the manager’s call to the police he had paid a total of over $11,000. The manager also reported that Defendant occasionally gave hotel employees rounds of ammunition as souvenirs. Later that day, two uniformed Melbourne Police officers — Sergeant Cyril Hopping and Officer Kevin Palmen — responded to the hotel. After the police conducted a preliminary investigation, Sergeant Hopping contacted the office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”).

At approximately 2:00 p.m., several federal agents arrived, including ICE Agents Jesus Martin and Jacqueline Acosta along with FBI Agent Tom Slone. After speaking with Sergeant Hopping and the hotel manager, the agents returned to the hotel parking lot to retrieve gear. While in the parking lot, the agents received notice that Defendant had exited the elevator and entered the hotel lobby. Upon seeing Defendant, Sergeant Hopping approached Defendant and asked if they could talk. Defendant agreed, and Sergeant Hopping asked Defendant to take a seat on a couch in the lobby. Within a few minutes, the federal agents reentered the lobby and Sergeant Hopping stepped away.

During the time Sergeant Hopping was with Defendant, he did not make any demands of Defendant or give him instructions. At no time did Sergeant Hopping touch Defendant. And, although Sergeant Hopping’s sidearm was visible, he never touched it or made any reference to it. Sergeant Hopping did not tell Defendant that he was under arrest or that he could not leave. While in Sergeant. Hopping’s presence, Defendant remained calm and polite.

When the federal agents reentered the lobby, Defendant was still seated- on the co.uch, ICE Agent Martin was the first to approach- Defendant. He asked Defendant if he could perform a pat down to check for weapons, explaining that it was a safety precaution. Defendant agreed, and the two men stepped around a corner in the lobby. Agent Martin conducted the pat down, which revealed that Defendant was not armed. Defendant asked Agent Martin what was going on, and Agent Martin told him that another agent would explain.

As Agent Martin was conducting the pat down, Agent Slone approached Defendant and asked if he could speak with him. Defendant agreed, and Agent Slone asked if there was anyone in Defendant’s room. Defendant told Agent Slone that no one was in his room and agreed that Agent Slone could check. When Agent Slone asked Defendant for a key, Defendant said the door was open. The - door to Defendant’s room was- indeed open, and after a quick search, Agents Slone and Acosta and Sergeant Hopping confirmed, that the room was unoccupied and returned to the lobby. While Agents Acosta and Slone were checking Defendant’s room, Agent Martin asked Defendant to accompany him to a conference room where private conversation would be possible. When Defendant agreed, Agent Martin escorted Defendant to a conference room off the lobby about twenty feet away. When Agents Acosta and Slone entered the conference room and introduced themselves, Agent Martin left.

There were eight chairs at a table in the conference room: Defendant sat at the head of the table, closest to the door, and Agents Acosta and Slone took the seats next to him. .Officer Palmeri, who was responsible for writing a report for the Mel[1278]*1278bourne Police Department, also remained in the room — sitting in a chair against the wall on which the only door was located.

Throughout the interview, Defendant answered questions asked by the agents. At first the questions were about Defendant’s visa status. Defendant admitted that he had been a student at Florida Institute of Technology but was no longer enrolled. He then stated that he was attending classes at Kaiser University, but he later admitted that he was not enrolled at that school either and that his student visa had lapsed. He stated that he was in violation of his immigration status by not being in school. The conversation then turned to firearms. Defendant admitted that while in Florida he purchased three firearms and gave one of those firearms to his girlfriend. He also admitted that he used firearms at two local firing ranges. Defendant explained that the ranges initially denied him access because he could not establish that he was a legal resident. To cure this problem, Defendant applied for and received a Florida hunting license that satisfied the objection of the ranges. He also admitted that he currently had possession of ammunition that he kept in a black bag in his hotel room. Defendant then orally gave the agents permission to again enter his room, where they found the ammunition as Defendant described. Toward the end of the'interview, Defendant mentioned that he kept personal belongings at a local storage facility. He then gave written consent for the agents to search that facility as well as his cell phone.

The interview with Agents Acosta and Slone lasted between one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half hours. During this' time, Defendant remained calm; he did not make any requests for food or water or to use the bathroom. He made no requests to suspend or terminate the interview. There is no evidence that the agents or Officer Palmeri made threats or intimidated Defendant. Although Officer Palmeri was in uniform and visibly armed, the federal agents did not display the weapons or handcuffs in them possession. At all times during the interview, Defendant was “polite” and “a gentleman.”

II

The Fifth Amendment provides that “no person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” U.S. Const. amend. V. In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the Supreme Court put in place protective measures to ensure that “custodial interrogation cannot occur before a suspect is warned of his or her rights against self-incrimination.” United States v. Newsome, 476 F.3d 1221, 1224 (11th Cir.2007) (citing Miranda, 384 U.S. at 446, 86 S.Ct. 1602).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
178 F. Supp. 3d 1275, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44831, 2016 WL 1337265, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-rehaif-flmd-2016.