United States v. Sanders

8 F. App'x 348
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMarch 20, 2001
DocketNo. 99-6530
StatusPublished

This text of 8 F. App'x 348 (United States v. Sanders) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Sanders, 8 F. App'x 348 (6th Cir. 2001).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Defendant William Perry Sanders appeals following his conditional guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); and to possessing an unregistered firearm, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d) and 5871. We AFFIRM.

I.

The facts in this case are undisputed. On January 15, 1998, Officer Tommy Bunch of the McMinn County Sheriffs Department submitted an application for a search warrant to Tennessee State Court Judge Carroll Ross. The pre-printed affidavit states that on January 15, 1998, an “informant/cooperating citizen” advised the affiant that within the last twenty-four hours he:

lX7 1) saw the above-described ... controlled substances ... stored therein;
[X] 2) saw the above-described ... controlled substances ... in the hands of and on the person of Perry Sanders
[X] 4) saw the above-described ... controlled substances ... being sold from the above-described property/vehicle/premises.

(J.A. 110.) The affidavit also states that Affiant further states that said informant him advised him as follows: That Perry Sanders possesses a quantity of crack cocaine. The informant did observe Perry Sanders selling the crack cocaine to other individuals. This confidential informant has given this officer information in the past, that has led to two drug arrest[s] and convictions.

(J.A. 110.)

Officer Bunch, the affiant, also indicated on the boilerplate form that he had known the informant for six years, and that said informant was “reliable, honest and credible,” that said informant had given reliable information in the past, and that the informant had personal knowledge of the information given. (J.A. 109.)

At the suppression hearing, the AUSA1 indicated that the state court judge also received the law enforcement credentials of the affiant, who had previously provided information to the judge; that the affiant advised the issuing state judge that twenty-five additional state search warrants had been issued by the same state judge based on information provided by the same confidential informant; and that the affiant had previously arrested the defendant at the same location for which subject search warrant was issued.

The search warrant was executed on January 15, 1998, at Sanders’ home. The officers seized two firearms, a rifle and a sawed-off shotgun, which are the subjects of the indictment. During the course of the search Sanders also purportedly admitted to ownership of the firearms. He also executed a handwritten confession:

On 01-15-98 the items found in my home or where I stay is [sic] mine. The one shotgun, the SKS rifle, the drug parapherna [sic], and any suspected drugs are mine. I admit this without threat or promise.

Following the search of his home and arrest, Sanders was released from state custody. On May 21, 1998, he met with Special Agent Robert E. Clowers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. At that time, Sanders was read his rights [350]*350and again admitted ownership of the two firearms.

On February 23, 1999, Sanders was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); and possessing an unregistered firearm (a sawed-off shotgun), in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d) and 5871. The third count of the indictment provided for the forfeiture of said firearms and ammunition under 18 U.S.C. § 3665.

On March 17, 1999, Sanders filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained by the state search warrant, and his confessions. The matter was referred to a magistrate judge. After a suppression hearing, the magistrate judge recommended that Sanders’ motion be denied. The district court adopted the recommendation, holding that the affidavit was sufficient to establish probable cause.

Sanders then pleaded guilty to the firearms counts, preserving his right to appeal the denial of the suppression motion. He also agreed to the forfeiture.

On October 8, 1999, Sanders was sentenced to concurrent period of seventy months incarceration and three years supervised release and to a total special assessment of $200. Sanders timely appeals.

II.

Sanders contends that the affidavit supporting the search warrant did not establish probable cause. He also argues that any reasonable police officer would have noted the deficiencies, and that the Leon good faith exception does not apply. See United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984). Thus, Sanders claims that the fruits of the search should have been suppressed.

Probable cause determinations are generally reviewed under a de novo standard. Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996). Fact findings are reviewed for clear error. United States v. Williams, 224 F.3d 530, 532 (6th Cir.2000).

In reviewing the sufficiency of an affidavit underlying a search warrant, we use the “totality of the circumstances” approach articulated in Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 230-31, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). See United States v. Allen, 211 F.3d 970, 972-73 (6th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 121 U.S. 251, 7 S.Ct. 906, 30 L.Ed. 915 (2000). We accord “great deference” to the issuing judge’s decision. See id. at 973. As long as the judge had a “substantial basis for ... concluding] that a search would uncover evidence of wrongdoing, the Fourth Amendment requires no more.” Id. (internal quotation omitted); see also Gates, 462 U.S. at 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317 (holding that the test for probable cause is whether “there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place”). If a Fourth Amendment violation is found, both direct evidence and evidence considered fruit of the poisonous tree is inadmissible. See United States v. Murphy, 241 F.3d 447, 457 (6th Cir.2001).

Sanders argues that the affidavit in this case, similar to those criticized in United States v. Weaver,

Related

Penn v. Calhoun
121 U.S. 251 (Supreme Court, 1887)
Illinois v. Gates
462 U.S. 213 (Supreme Court, 1983)
United States v. Leon
468 U.S. 897 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Ornelas v. United States
517 U.S. 690 (Supreme Court, 1996)
United States v. Gary Lynn Weaver
99 F.3d 1372 (Sixth Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Kenneth Eugene Allen
168 F.3d 293 (Sixth Circuit, 1999)
United States v. Kenneth Eugene Allen
211 F.3d 970 (Sixth Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Marcus D. Williams
224 F.3d 530 (Sixth Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Vernon L. Murphy
241 F.3d 447 (Sixth Circuit, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
8 F. App'x 348, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-sanders-ca6-2001.