United States v. Vasquez De La Paz

103 F. App'x 588
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJune 24, 2004
DocketNo. 03-1053
StatusPublished

This text of 103 F. App'x 588 (United States v. Vasquez De La Paz) 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. Vasquez De La Paz, 103 F. App'x 588 (6th Cir. 2004).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The defendant, Juan Vasquez de la Paz, Jr., entered into a conditional guilty plea to drug trafficking charges, reserving the right to appeal the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence seized in a warrant-based search of a residence where he was staying as a house guest. The defendant’s motion alleged that the affidavit underlying the search warrant contained statements that were false or made with reckless disregard for the truth, in violation of Franks v. Delaware, 488 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978). Because we find no reversible error in connection with the district court’s ruling to the contrary, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Defendant Vasquez was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and with distribution of cocaine, along with co-defendants Jose Montes (referred to in the search warrant as “Hosea”) and the defendant’s brother, Alfredo Vasquez (apparently known as Luis and referred to in the search warrant as “Louie”). The charges resulted from confidential information provided in October 2001 to Michigan law enforcement officers in the Saginaw area who were part of the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (BAYANET). That information indicated that several individuals from Texas were working with someone in Tuscola County, Michigan, in furtherance of a scheme to sell cocaine in the Saginaw area. On the basis of a Texas phone number provided by the confidential informant, the officers obtained telephone records indicating that calls were being placed from the Texas number to a residence at 5710 French Road, located in Columbia Township in Tuscola County.

The officers called the Texas number and spoke with two men, one named Jose (later identified as Montes) and another named Luis (later identified as Alfredo Vasquez) to set up a cocaine buy. In order to induce them to bring cocaine to the Michigan area, undercover officer Michael Winters wired $2000 to Texas in mid-October. The following day, Winters met Montes and Alfredo Vasquez at a Sunoco gas station called the Express Stop, located on highway M-81 in the Saginaw area and was provided with a two-ounce sample of cocaine. Winters arranged to meet Montes at the Express Stop on November 29, 2001, to purchase $4000 worth of cocaine. Montes arrived in [590]*590a red pickup truck driven by a white male, later identified as John Ales. The truck was registered to a Judy Ales. John Ales stood outside the truck but did not enter the undercover vehicle with Montes to make the transfer. Montes told Winter that he and the others were staying at the Aleses’ residence and that they were paying Ales with cocaine and money for staying there. However, testifying later at the suppression hearing, Winters could not say whether any of the $4000 was actually given to Ales.

In early December 2001, Montes gave the officers the telephone number at the Aleses’ residence so that the officers could contact him to arrange further transactions. On December 5, 2001, Montes and Winters exchanged several phone calls relating to the purchase of a kilogram of cocaine. Winters testified that he was returning a call to Montes when someone he believed to be John Ales answered the phone. Winters had never spoken with Ales before, the person who answered the telephone did not identify himself, and there was no discussion between them about the drug transactions before the phone was handed over to Montes. Winters assumed that he had spoken with John Ales because when Montes called, the Caller ID function on his telephone indicated that the calls were coming from the Aleses’ residence. Moreover, Montes told Winters that Ales was the person who had driven him to the meeting the Express Stop on November 29. Because Winters could not arrange to arrive in time to conduct the transaction the night of December 5, the sale was put off until the following day. Montes indicated that he would be arriving at the Express Stop in the Aleses’ vehicle, although he did not say who would be driving.

On December 6, 2001, Montes and Alfredo Vasquez came to the Express Stop to deliver the kilogram of cocaine to Winters. At the same time, another officer, Kevin Conklin, was assigned the task of contacting the state prosecuting attorney for the purpose of attempting to obtain a search warrant for the Aleses’ residence. Most of the information that Conklin included in his affidavit came from Winters, but Conklin had not read Winters’s reports. However, Conklin had conducted surveillance during parts of the investigation and had been present when Winters gave Montes the $4000. Conklin had also checked the tax records for the French Road residence, which indicated that the taxes were billed to John and Judy Ales, From this, Conklin drew the conclusion that they were the owners of the property. At the time the warrant was obtained, both Conklin and Winters believed that John Ales was a member of the conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Defendant Juan Vasquez was present at the French Road residence when the officers executed the warrant on December 6. He was detained during the search and, during that detention, made certain incriminating statements, at first denying any involvement but ultimately admitting that he had transported cocaine from Texas to Saginaw. Following his indictment, he moved to suppress these statements, alleging that statements in the affidavit on which the warrant was based were false or had been made in reckless disregard of the truth. Specifically, the defendant challenged the following paragraphs in the affidavit:

[Paragraph 3(d) ]: Affiant has knowledge from Lt. Michael Winters, of BAYANET, that BAYANET made a wire transfer to Texas in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) in advance of a purchase of two kilograms of cocaine from Hosea L[ast] N[ame] [591]*591U[nknown], Louie LNU, and John Ales listed above on October 18, 2001. [Paragraph 3(f)]: Aff[ia]nt has knowledge from other members of BAYANET that four thousand dollars ($4,000.00) was given to Hosea LNU and John Ales on November 29, 2001 as another deposit towards the two kilograms of cocaine. [Paragraph 3(1) ]: Affiant has knowledge from other members of BAYANET that Hosea LNU and John Ales called last night to try to deliver only one kilogram of cocaine.

The district court held a hearing on the suppression motion and, based on testimony from Officers Conklin and Winters, ruled that the only portion of the affidavit that could arguably be found objectionable under Franks was the implication in Paragraph 3(1) that John Ales had actually conversed with Winters about the details of a drug transaction, when the facts indicated that he had merely answered the phone on the evening in question. Excising that portion of the affidavit, the district court then held that there remained sufficient information to constitute probable cause to support the search warrant.

Reserving the right to appeal the district court’s ruling on the Franks question, the defendant pleaded guilty to distribution of 500 grams or more of cocaine. He was found guilty and was sentenced to 70 months of imprisonment, from which order he now appeals.

DISCUSSION

We review the district court’s factual findings in conjunction with suppression rulings for clear error and the court’s legal conclusions de novo. See United States v. Stewart, 306 F.3d 295, 304 (6th Cir.2002).

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Related

Franks v. Delaware
438 U.S. 154 (Supreme Court, 1978)
United States v. Chester W. Campbell
878 F.2d 170 (Sixth Circuit, 1989)
United States v. John A. Hill
142 F.3d 305 (Sixth Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Stewart
306 F.3d 295 (Sixth Circuit, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
103 F. App'x 588, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-vasquez-de-la-paz-ca6-2004.