United States v. Tyree

292 F. App'x 207
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedSeptember 16, 2008
Docket07-1085
StatusUnpublished

This text of 292 F. App'x 207 (United States v. Tyree) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third 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. Tyree, 292 F. App'x 207 (3d Cir. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

Jason Tyree appeals the District Court’s denial of his motion to suppress and one count of conviction based on insufficient evidence. We will affirm.

I.

On January 30, 2005, two masked men entered a Dunkin’ Donuts store in Easton, Pennsylvania, and demanded money. One of the men, an African-American later identified as Tyree, pointed a gun at the two employees, threatening to shoot them if they did not comply. The men netted approximately $600 from the robbery, which was recorded on the store’s surveillance video.

The robbers left latent footprints on the just-mopped floor. Lieutenant Barry Go-lazeski developed some of the prints, and determined they were from Phat Farm sneakers. Golazeski also observed from the surveillance video that one of the men *209 had a “shorter, much stockier build.” App. at 126. Approximately ten days later, Golazeski was notified that an individual fitting the description of this robber and wearing Phat Farm sneakers was at an Easton courthouse. Golazeski met Tyree at the courthouse, and Tyree agreed to speak with him in private.

At the Sheriffs Department, Golazeski told Tyree about the Dunkin’ Donuts robbery and Tyree agreed to stand on paper to create a dust impression with his sneakers. Golazeski observed the impression to be similar in brand, size, tread, and wear pattern to the prints from the Dunkin’ Donuts. Golazeski told Tyree he wanted an expert opinion, so “you can either turn the [shoes] over to me or I can apply for a search warrant.” App. at 128. When Tyree declined to give him the shoes, Golaze-ski said he would have to remain at the Sheriffs Department “to see if this warrant is approved or declined,” App. at 129, to avoid the possibility that the shoes would “disappear,” App. at 144. Tyree refused to wait the three to four hours it would take to apply for the warrant, and gave Golazeski the shoes. A subsequent laboratory analysis showed that the prints left at the Dunkin’ Donuts store “correspond[ed] in tread design, size and wear” with Tyree’s shoes, and that the prints “could have been made” by Tyree. App. at 250.

On February 19, 2005, the 12th Street Market in Easton was robbed by three or four masked and armed men, one of whom the jury found to be Tyree. The men took money from one register and took another register with them. A civilian passerby chased the men after they ran out of the store, and saw them get into a gold-colored, mid-size sedan. The men eventually fled on foot, leaving the cash register and a loaded .22-caliber revolver alongside the car.

On May 4, 2005, two armed men, later identified as Tyree and Paul Barr, entered the First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union in Easton. Tyree pointed a gun at the tellers and demanded money. The robbers took $63,500 from the safe. The robbers, a black “stocky” male and a white male, fled in a light-colored tan or metallic gold sedamApp. at 374. Some hours later, off-duty Easton Police Captain Sheldon Smith observed two men in a ear matching this description five blocks from the bank, who were then seen entering a building. Officer Matthew Gerould arrived, and observed the parked car. He also observed a black man and a white man, both of whom he immediately recognized, coming from the building. Gerould knew Tyree was a suspect in other robberies.

Gerould ordered the men on the ground with his gun drawn and handcuffed them. Lieutenant Michael Orchulli conducted a pat-down search of Tyree’s person. He noticed a “large bulge” in the pocket of Tyree’s pants, and asked twice what it was without receiving an answer. App. at 170. “[Concerned that it might be a weapon,” Orchulli removed the item, which was two stacks of cash wrapped in bank wrappers, totaling around $2,500. App. at 170. Tyree was arrested and a search of the ear produced an additional $18,000 in cash.

At the Police Department, Captain David Ryan gave Tyree Miranda warnings. Tyree signed a waiver of his rights, and admitted his involvement in the credit union robbery. Tyree stated his “discomfort with being a snitch,” App. at 191, but eventually disclosed his accomplice’s name and also the location of the gun, which was a BB gun, and the men’s masks. Tyree was asked about other robberies, and admitted his involvement in the 12th Street Market and Dunkin’ Donuts robberies.

A federal grand jury charged Tyree with three counts of Hobbs Act robbery, in *210 violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951; three counts of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); and one count of armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d). Tyree pled not guilty, and filed a pre-trial motion to suppress physical evidence and his statements to the police. The District Court denied the motion orally and in a written opinion, finding the testimony of the police officers “entirely credible and reliable.” App. at 8. After a six-day trial, the jury found Tyree guilty of all charges except one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence. He was sentenced to 492 months imprisonment and five years supervised release. Tyree appeals the District Court’s denial of his motion to suppress and also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for one of the firearm convictions.

II.

A. Motion to Suppress

We review the District Court’s denial of the motion to suppress for clear error as to the underlying factual findings and we have plenary review over the Court’s application of the law to those facts. United States v. Perez, 280 F.3d 318, 336 (3d Cir.2002).

1. Probable Cause to Atrest

Probable cause to arrest exists when the facts and circumstances suggest that “a reasonable person [would] believe that an offense has been ... committed by the person to be arrested.” Orsatti v. New Jersey State Police, 71 F.3d 480, 483 (3d Cir.1995). Probable cause determinations require analysis of the totality of the circumstances. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 233, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). Tyree argues that the officers lacked probable cause to arrest him because they only knew the credit union had been robbed by a stocky black male and a white male who had fled the scene in a beige or gold sedan. Tyree relies on United States v. Kithcart, 134 F.3d 529

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Bluebook (online)
292 F. App'x 207, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-tyree-ca3-2008.