United States v. Wagner

289 F. App'x 57
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 8, 2008
Docket07-3443
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 289 F. App'x 57 (United States v. Wagner) 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. Wagner, 289 F. App'x 57 (6th Cir. 2008).

Opinion

RYAN, Circuit Judge.

The defendant, Tyrone J. Wagner, challenges his convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and for unlawfully possessing an unregistered firearm, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d), 5871. Specifically, he argues that his convictions must be vacated because the district court erroneously denied his request for an evidentiary healing and his motion to suppress the evidence against him. We find no basis for disturbing Wagner’s conviction, and therefore affirm the district court’s judgment.

I.

During the week of September 3, 2006, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agents, with the help of a confidential informant (Cl), arranged for a controlled buy of crack cocaine from Wagner. The Cl told ATF agents that he had witnessed Wagner trafficking drugs in the past and had seen Wagner in possession of firearms. The Cl identified Wagner’s photo and provided agents with Wagner’s address and vehicle information. ATF agents independently corroborated the Cl’s information by contacting Wagner’s parole officer and a postal inspector, and obtained information on Wagner’s previous firearm conviction.

Sometime around September 6, 2006, the Cl, wearing an electronic monitoring device, met Wagner in the parking lot of Wagner’s apartment complex. The Cl handed cash to Wagner, who stated that he had to go up to his apartment and would return shortly. Upon returning to the parking lot, Wagner handed the Cl a quantity of crack cocaine.

On September 8, 2006, ATF agents applied for a warrant to search Wagner’s apartment for drug trafficking items. In the affidavit accompanying the request, an ATF agent detailed the foregoing information regarding the Cl, the controlled buy, and the agent’s independent investigation. On September 13, 2006, officers executed the issued search warrant. As the officers were approaching Wagner’s apartment building, they encountered Wagner in the parking lot, stopped him, and ordered him back into the apartment. Officers handcuffed Wagner and detained him for the duration of the search, which turned up a .38-ealiber revolver, ammunition, a 16-gauge sawed-off shotgun, and miscellaneous drugs and drug trafficking paraphernalia.

In October 2006, an indictment issued against Wagner, charging him with two firearms violations. Wagner filed a motion to suppress the evidence, and requested an evidentiary hearing. The district court denied both the request for an evidentiary hearing and the motion to suppress. Wagner then entered into a conditional plea agreement, offering to plead guilty to the charges in the indictment, and reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. The district court accepted Wagner’s guilty plea and sentenced him to 188 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years’ supervised release.

II.

Wagner first argues that the district court abused its discretion when it denied him an evidentiary hearing regarding the constitutionality of his detention during the execution of the search warrant. Specifically, Wagner contends that officers ar *59 rested him in the parking lot of his apartment complex without probable cause, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

We review a district court’s decision to deny an evidentiary hearing for abuse of discretion. Abdus-Samad v. Bell, 420 F.3d 614, 626 (6th Cir.2005), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 127 S.Ct. 380, 166 L.Ed.2d 269 (2006). We review factual findings for clear error and the legal conclusion of whether a seizure occurred in violation of the Fourth Amendment de novo. United States v. Buchanon, 72 F.3d 1217, 1223 (6th Cir.1995).

Wagner maintains that he presented a sufficient factual basis to warrant an evidentiary hearing regarding the constitutionality of his detention. Wagner bears the burden of demonstrating that there are contested issues of fact that might be resolved at an evidentiary hearing. United States v. Abboud, 438 F.3d 554, 577 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 127 S.Ct. 446, 166 L.Ed.2d 309 (2006). The only issue Wagner disputes is that he was “arrested” and not “detained,” which is not a question of fact, but a question of law. Because Wagner failed to present any factual disputes, we think the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Wagner’s motion for an evidentiary hearing.

"When officers execute a search warrant at a suspect’s home, they enjoy an implicit, limited authority to detain the occupants at the premises — even with handcuffs — without making an arrest. Muehler v. Mena, 544 U.S. 93, 98-99, 125 S.Ct. 1465, 161 L.Ed.2d 299 (2005). An officer’s right to detain a suspect who is in the process of leaving his home when the officer arrives to execute a valid search warrant is not limited by the suspect’s geographic proximity to his house; rather, police may detain a suspect as soon as is practicable under the circumstances. United States v. Cochran, 939 F.2d 337, 339 (6th Cir.1991).

Here, the officers preparing to execute the search warrant encountered Wagner in the parking lot of his apartment complex. Before executing the search, the officers used reasonable force to effectuate Wagner’s detention: They handcuffed him and escorted him back into his apartment, where he was detained for the duration of the search. We agree with the district court that the actions of the officers constituted a detention, not an arrest, and we see no violation of the Fourth Amendment arising out of these events.

III.

Wagner argues that the district court erred by denying his request for a hearing under Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978).

A defendant is entitled to a Franks hearing on the veracity of a search warrant affidavit if he makes a “substantial preliminary showing that specified portions of the affiant’s averments are deliberately or recklessly false and ... [that] a finding of probable cause would not be supported by the remaining content of the affidavit when the allegedly false material is set to one side.” United States v. Campbell, 878 F.2d 170, 171 (6th Cir.1989) (emphasis in original).

When reviewing a district court’s denial of a Franks

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Bluebook (online)
289 F. App'x 57, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-wagner-ca6-2008.