United States v. Trinidad-Rivera

130 F. Supp. 3d 513, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123234, 2015 WL 5330397
District Court, D. Puerto Rico·Decided September 14, 2015·No. Crim. No. 14-004(GAG-PG)·Published

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JUAN M. PÉREZ-GIMÉNEZ, District Judge,

On December 3, 2013, the United States filed a criminal complaint against defendants Francisco Trinidad Rivera (“Trinidad”) and Aileen Rivera Burgos (“Rivera”). Later, on January 2, 2014, the government indicted Trinidad for being a convicted felon in illegal possession of several firearms ’ in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2) and Rivera for misprision of a felony in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 4.

The matter is before the undersigned on Trinidad’s request to suppress the evidence against him (Docket No. 30, 74) filed on January 30, 2014, which defendant Rivera joined (Docket No. 67). The United States opposed déféndants’ motion to suppress on December 31, 2014 (Docket No. 77) and a hearing was held.on June 30, 2015.

For the reasons discussed below, the undersigned finds that the officers’ entry into Trinidad’s home violated defendants’ Fourth Amendment rights, and they are thus entitled to the suppression of the evidence seized from him. As such, the motion to suppress is GRANTED.

I. FACTUAL FINDINGS

After having opportunity to listen to the testimony proffered at the suppression hearing by PRPD Officers Richard Negron Aponte (“Negron”), Lieutenant Ferdinan Acosta (“Acosta”), Rafael Rivera Romero (“Rivera-Romero”) and both defendants, the court will now summarize their statements herein.

PRPD Officer Richard Negron Aponte

Negron is an investigative officer at the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD), who partook in defendants’ arrest. During the suppression hearing, Negron testified that in December of 2013, he was investigating the whereabouts of, fugitive Ramon Ortiz Ramos (“Ramon” or “the fugitive”). According’ to Negron, he received a tip from an informant1 that told him that' the fugitive was hiding in a home in the municipality of Vega Baja. Negron testified that the evening prior tor defendants’ arrest, on [515] or about eight or nine in the evening, he met with the informant, who pointed out the home where the fugitive was allegedly-hiding. To questions from the prosecutor, the witness answered as follows:

Q. ALL RIGHT. AND AT SOME POINT THAT NIGHT DID YOU OBSERVE THE FUGITIVE?
A. YES. WHILE I’M DRIVING WITH THE INFORMANT, THE INFORMANT POINT OUT: LOOK AT RAMÓN RIGHT THERE, AND HE WAS CROSSING THE STREET.
Q. WHERE DID YOU OBSERVE HIM GOING?
A. TOWARD THE HOME.
Q. AND WHAT DID YOU DO? DID YOU ATTEMPT TO ARREST HIM AT THAT MOMENT?
A. NO.
Q. WHAT DID YOU DO NEXT?
A. I EXITED THE AREA, I EXITED THE DEVELOPMENT, I CALLED THE DIRECTOR OF MY OFFICE, LIEUTENANT ACOSTA. I INFORMED HIM OF THE SITUATION AND HE TOLD ME: LET’S WORK ON THAT, TO THEN COME IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS.

Transcript ■ of Suppression Hearing (“Transcript”), page 8. Negron testified that he returned to the residence in question in the early morning hours of December 3rd, 2013 with a group of more than ten task force officers of the Federal Marshal Service and members of the PRPD. They were armed with rifles, shields and bullet-proof vests. Negron admitted. to not having a warrant to enter this house.

Notwithstanding, Negron testified that the marshals went up a set of stairs and through a hallway before knocking on a door of the second floor of the house. And while admitting they went through a gate before being able to' climb the set of stairs that leads to -this second story,2 he denied seeing the gate was -locked with a padlock or seeing any one of the officers ahead- of him break a padlock to enter the premises.3 Transcript, pages 41-44.

Negron identified defendant Trinidad as the man that answered the door and came out. Negron confirmed to the rest óf the officers that Trinidad was nót the fugitive and according to him, Trinidad walked out into the second-floor balcony to be interviewed. The defendant admitted knowing the fugitive but denied he was in his house. To that effect, Negron testified:

Q. AND AS YOU WERE SPEAKING WITH :THE DEFENDANT, WHERE WERE THE MARSHALS?
A.- AT THE DOOR, THEY WERE OUTSIDE STILL WAITING.
Q. ALL RIGHT. NOW, AT SOME POINT DID. YOU ASK THE DEFENDANT IF YOU COULD ENTER THE APARTMENT?
A. I ASKED HIM IF WE COULD GO INSIDE TO CHECK IF RAMÓN WAS THERE.
Q. AND WHAT DID THE DEFENDANT SAY?
A. HE SAID:' IF IT’S' TO GO IN TO LOOK FOR RAMÓN, THERE’S NÓ PROBLEM.
Q. AND AFTER THE DEFENDANT STATED THAT TO YOU, WHAT DID YOU DO NEXT?
A. NO, THEN IT WAS THE LIEUTENANT WHO. .GAVE THE INSTRUCTIONS TO—
[516] Q. WHO GAVE THE' INSTRUCTIONS TO WHO?
A. LIEUTENANT ACOSTA.
Q. ' WHAT DID ■ LIEUTENANT ACOSTA INSTRUCT THE MARSHALS TO DO? •. ,
A. TO GO IN AND CHECK AND SEE IF THE FUGITIVE WAS INSIDE,

Transcript, pages 18-19. According to Negron, defendant Trinidad did not ask whether the agents had a warrant nor told them that without; a warrant they could not, enter the house. Transcript, page 46. After going in, Negron stated that he saw defendant Rivera and two minors in the living room. Negron described that after the search team entered the house, Trinidad followed them and, in turn, Lieutenant Acosta followed after Trinidad. Transcript, page 48. After the search," Negron claims one of the agents showed a rifle he found. Id.

. On cross-examination, Negron admitted he never saw the fugitive go inside Trinidad’s home, just crossing the street in the vicinity of the home, and that seven to eight hours, elapsed between the time he saw the fugitive and the PRPD officers’ arrival to Trinidad’s, home. See Transcript, page 39-40.

Lieutenant Ferdinan Acosta

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United States v. Trinidad-Rivera, 130 F. Supp. 3d 513, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123234, 2015 WL 5330397 (prd 2015).

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