United States v. Robinson

536 F.3d 874, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 16534, 2008 WL 2967031
Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit·Decided August 5, 2008·No. 07-3011·Published·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge.

Edward G. Robinson pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(l)(A)(iii), conditioned on his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2). The district court 1 sentenced him to 160 months imprisonment. Robinson appeals the court’s evidentiary ruling and the sentence it imposed. We affirm.

I.

A confidential informant told Officer Mark Nelson of the St. Paul, Minnesota police department that Robinson was selling large amounts of cocaine from an apartment in St. Paul. The informant said he 2 had been inside the apartment numerous times to purchase narcotics from Robinson. Officer Nelson applied for a warrant to search the apartment. He stated in the application that he had arranged a controlled buy of cocaine from Robinson “within the last 48 hours,” using the confidential informant.

A search warrant was issued on February 17, 2006, granting the authority to search for cocaine, money and bank statements, drug paraphernalia, photos showing drug use, and weapons. After the warrant was issued, Officer Nelson conducted additional surveillance on two days but uncovered no additional drug activity. The police executed the warrant on February 27, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. They seized documents bearing Robinson’s name, a shoe box containing a scale, baggies, photographs, a .357 revolver, and suspected crack cocaine. A copy of the warrant was left at the residence.

*876 Robinson was arrested outside the apartment a few hours after the execution of the search warrant. A grand jury indicted him for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(l)(A)(iii); possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1); and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2).

Robinson moved to suppress the evidence recovered from the execution of the search warrant. Among other arguments, he contended that the probable cause justifying the search warrant had become stale during the ten days between the issuance and execution of the warrant. The magistrate judge 3 found that the probable cause was not stale and recommended that the motion to suppress be denied. Robinson objected to the report and recommendation, which the district court reviewed de novo. Remarking that “courts should be hesitant to find continuing probable cause” without evidence of ongoing criminal activity, the court nonetheless concluded “that it was reasonable to believe the police would find evidence of residency and bank statements, even ten days after issuance of the warrant.” The district court therefore denied Robinson’s motion to suppress.

Pursuant to an agreement with the Government, Robinson pled guilty to the charge of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base, stipulating that he possessed 104 grams of the substance. He also stipulated that he possessed a firearm in connection with the drug-trafficking offense, but the Government agreed to dismiss the remaining two firearm-possession counts. Robinson reserved his right to appeal the adverse determination of his pre-trial motions. Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2). The Government further agreed that if the United States Attorney determined that Robinson had provided substantial assistance to the Government, it would move for a downward departure at the time of sentencing. The district court accepted the plea agreement.

At Robinson’s sentencing hearing, the district court determined that his total offense level is 37 and his criminal history category is VI, resulting in a Sentencing Guidelines range of 262 to 327 months. Because Robinson had given substantial assistance, the Government moved for a downward departure and the court granted the motion. The court imposed a sentence of 160 months’ imprisonment. After the sentence was imposed, Robinson’s counsel asked why the sentence was above the statutory minimum even though the Government’s motion was made under both the Sentencing Guidelines and 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e). The court responded:

I did grant the motion on both grounds. The reduction was from the — the calculation is the reduction from the guideline range, which is the bottom of 262 months, so — 1 mean, clearly it opens up anything as a sentencing option, but the Court is, of course, required to consider the guideline range in determining the appropriate sentence.... There’s also the additional issue that is constantly raised by the Circuit that the substantial reductions from the guideline range have to be supported by the really substantial assistance and so I needed to take that into account as well.

On appeal, Robinson challenges the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress and the length of his prison sen *877 tence. He argues that the district court misapprehended the extent of its authority to sentence below the Sentencing Guidelines or statutory minimum.

II.

For his first point on appeal, Robinson contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence obtained under the search warrant because it was stale and void under Minnesota law. A warrant is stale if probable cause no longer existed at the time the warrant was executed. United States v. Shegog, 787 F.2d 420, 422 (8th Cir.1986). We review a district court’s legal conclusion as to probable cause de novo and its factual conclusions for clear error. United States v. Nguyen, 526 F.3d 1129, 1133 (8th Cir.2008). Probable cause has been shown if the warrant application and affidavit describe circumstances showing “a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.” Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). The magistrate’s determination should be based on practical, commonsense factors, given the totality of the circumstances set out in the affidavit. Id.

Robinson argues that probable cause had dissipated because there was no evidence of continued drug activity during the ten-day delay in the execution of the warrant.

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United States v. Robinson, 536 F.3d 874, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 16534, 2008 WL 2967031 (8th Cir. 2008).

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