United States v. Vazquez

406 F. App'x 430
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedDecember 28, 2010
DocketNo. 10-12737
StatusPublished

This text of 406 F. App'x 430 (United States v. Vazquez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 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. Vazquez, 406 F. App'x 430 (11th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Appellant Juan Luis Vazquez appeals his convictions and 120-month total sentence for possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(ii), and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i). On appeal, Vazquez asserts that (1) he was entitled to a hearing, pursuant to Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978), because he impliedly challenged the arrest warrant in his Motion to Suppress Evidence; (2) law enforcement officers had neither a valid warrant nor probable cause to arrest him; (3) the district court erred in denying his Motion to Suppress Evidence; and (4) his sentence was above the guideline range that he should have received, because the district court improperly considered the drugs and firearm that officers seized from his residence.

I.

A district court’s denial of a motion as untimely is reviewed for abuse of discretion. United States v. Ramirez, 324 F.3d 1225, 1226 (11th Cir.2003). The Constitution prohibits an officer from making perjurious or recklessly false statements in support of a warrant. Franks, 438 U.S. at 164-65, 98 S.Ct. at 2681. To be entitled to a Franks hearing, a defendant must allege that the affidavit supporting the warrant contained a “deliberate falsehood” or “reckless disregard for the truth” from the affiant, which, when set aside, leaves insufficient “content in the warrant affidavit to support a finding of probable cause.” Id. at 171-72, 98 S.Ct. at 2684. The requirement of a substantial preliminary showing “is not lightly met.” United States v. Arbolaez, 450 F.3d 1283, 1294 (11th Cir.2006). The false statements must have been made knowingly and intentionally, as allegations of negligence or innocent mistake are insufficient. Franks, 438 U.S. at 171, 98 S.Ct. at 2684. “Affidavits supporting arrest warrants are presumptively valid.” United States v. Kapordelis, 569 F.3d 1291, 1309 (11th Cir.2009) (citation omitted), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 130 S.Ct. 1315, 175 L.Ed.2d 1097 (2010). The defendant bears the burden of establishing that, absent misrepresentations or omissions, the warrant lacks probable cause. See United States v. Novaton, 271 F.3d 968, 986-87 (11th Cir.2001).

Because the record demonstrates that Vazquez did not specifically challenge the affidavit underlying the arrest warrant until his post-suppression-hearing brief, and because he did not present any evidence that the alleged false statements were made knowingly, intelligently, or with reckless disregard for the truth, we conclude that Vazquez failed to make the “substantial preliminary showing” necessary for a Franks hearing. Accordingly, we hold that the district court properly determined that Vazquez waived a Franks challenge.

II.

Officers may arrest an individual without a warrant if they have reasonable cause to believe that the individual has engaged in a felony. Parker v. Allen, 565 F.3d 1258, 1289 (11th Cir.2009), cert. de[432]*432nied, — U.S. —, 180 S.Ct. 1073, 175 L.Ed.2d 901 (2010). Probable cause exists if an arrest is objectively reasonable based on the totality of the circumstances. Lee v. Ferraro, 284 F.3d 1188, 1195 (11th Cir. 2002). “This standard is met when the facts and circumstances within the officer’s knowledge, of which he or she has reasonably trustworthy information, would cause a prudent person to believe, under the circumstances shown, that the suspect has committed, is committing, or is about to commit an offense.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

We conclude from the record that law enforcement officers had reasonably trustworthy information that would cause a prudent person to believe that Vazquez was committing a felony, based on information from a confidential informant, who had obtained cocaine previously from Vazquez and who personally observed cocaine in the floorboard of Vazquez’s vehicle shortly before the arrest. Accordingly, we hold that probable cause supported Vazquez’s arrest.

III.

The denial of a motion to suppress evidence presents a mixed question of law and fact. United States v. Holloway, 290 F.3d 1331, 1334 (11th Cir.2002). We review the district court’s factual findings for clear error, and its application of the law to the facts de novo. Id. We construe the facts in the light most favorable to the prevailing party. Id.

A warrantless search pursuant to valid consent is an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 222, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2045, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). We determine whether consent was voluntarily given based on the totality of the circumstances. United States v. Acosta, 363 F.3d 1141, 1151 (11th Cir. 2004). A person may impliedly give consent to a search through body language. See United States v. Ramirez-Chilel, 289 F.3d 744, 750, 752 (11th Cir.2002) (holding that the defendant had consented to the officers’ entry by yielding the right-of-way at his door).

Evidence gathered from a search following an illegal arrest must be suppressed as the tainted fruit of the illegal arrest unless the defendant’s consent to the search was both (1) voluntary and (2) not the product of the illegal detention. United States v. Santa, 236 F.3d 662, 676 (11th Cir.2000). Relevant factors include (1) the temporal proximity of the arrest and the consent to the search, (2) intervening circumstances, and (3) the purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct. Id. at 677. Pre-consent warnings under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), are not required to validate consent to searches. United States v. Garcia, 496 F.2d 670, 674 (5th Cir.1974).

Before custodial interrogation, a suspect must be given specific warnings of his Fifth Amendment rights. Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1612. “[T]he Miranda safeguards come into play whenever a person in custody is subjected to either express questioning or its functional equivalent.” Rhode Island v. Innis,

Related

United States v. Novation
271 F.3d 968 (Eleventh Circuit, 2001)
Kim D. Lee v. Luis Ferraro
284 F.3d 1188 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Carlos Enrique Ramirez-Chilel
289 F.3d 744 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Robert Dale Holloway
290 F.3d 1331 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
United States v. Yuby Ramirez, Jairo Castro
324 F.3d 1225 (Eleventh Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Jorge Nicolas Acosta
363 F.3d 1141 (Eleventh Circuit, 2004)
United States v. Elio Jesus Arbolaez
450 F.3d 1283 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)
Parker v. Allen
565 F.3d 1258 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Kapordelis
569 F.3d 1291 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Segarra
582 F.3d 1269 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Schneckloth v. Bustamonte
412 U.S. 218 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Franks v. Delaware
438 U.S. 154 (Supreme Court, 1978)
North Carolina v. Butler
441 U.S. 369 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Rhode Island v. Innis
446 U.S. 291 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Moran v. Burbine
475 U.S. 412 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Maryland v. Buie
494 U.S. 325 (Supreme Court, 1990)
Missouri v. Seibert
542 U.S. 600 (Supreme Court, 2004)
United States v. Maria Corral Garcia
496 F.2d 670 (Fifth Circuit, 1974)
United States v. Noe Burgos
720 F.2d 1520 (Eleventh Circuit, 1983)

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Bluebook (online)
406 F. App'x 430, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-vazquez-ca11-2010.