United States v. Williams

574 F. Supp. 2d 530, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70179, 2008 WL 4068467
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 2, 2008
DocketCriminal 3:2007-5
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 574 F. Supp. 2d 530 (United States v. Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Williams, 574 F. Supp. 2d 530, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70179, 2008 WL 4068467 (W.D. Pa. 2008).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER OF COURT

GIBSON, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on the Defendant Tyrone D. Williams’ (hereinafter “Defendant”) Motion to Suppress Evidence with Citation of Authority (Document No. 31). The Defendant was indicted for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e)(1). This Court possesses subject matter jurisdiction of these alleged offenses pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231. Venue is proper in this judicial district in accordance with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 18.

The Court conducted an evidentiary hearing on December 19, 2007 and a second evidentiary hearing on February 1, 2008. The Court directed the parties to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law based upon the transcript of the evidentiary proceedings. Post-hearing briefing began with the Defendant’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law with Citation of Authority (Document No. 82) (hereinafter “Def. Brief’) and was completed by the parties with the filing of the Government’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (Document No. 87) (hereinafter “Gov’t Brief’) on July 15, 2008. The federal public defender on behalf of the Defendant filed a late reply brief (Document No. 86) without leave of court on August 14, 2008. It will be stricken and not considered by the Court as no leave to file this document late was obtained in accordance with the Court’s Practices and Procedures.

For the reasons stated herein, the Defendant’s Motion to Suppress Evidence will be granted in part and denied in part.

The testimony from the several witnesses in this matter cannot be entirely credited by the Court because of the express conflicts among the recollections of the witnesses. Between the discrepancies of the testimony, lack of knowledge of certain facts, the passage of time, and the medications taken by one witness and the possibility of her being influenced in her testimony by fear of retaliation, credibility was essential to the following findings. Therefore, the Court offers that the following facts have been assembled with credibility given in part to certain portions of the testimony of each witness, with none of them being entirely knowledgeable, cognizant or otherwise recalling all of the events of the evening of August 14, 2005.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. On August 14, 2005, Patrolman 1 Scott Haymaker (hereinafter “Haymak *535 er”)was working as a patrolman and answered a call that reported a “domestic assault” at approximately 8:05 p.m. Hearing Transcript of December 19, 2007 (Document No. 66)(hereinafter “HT1”), pp. 3-5.

2. Haymaker has been the affiant on approximately 25 to 50 search warrants while working for the Johnstown Police Department; he has also participated in execution of the same amount of search warrants when he was not the affiant. HT1, p. 4.

3. In response to Erica Paul’s (hereinafter “Paul”) call to 911, Haymaker, dressed in uniform, proceeded to the address of 202 Hickory Street, Johnstown, Pennsylvania in a “marked [patrol] vehicle”; Patrolman Carothers (hereinafter “Carothers”) also arrived on the scene in uniform in a marked police vehicle. HT1, pp. 5-6, 88-89; Government Exhibit 1.

4. Patrolman - Keim (hereinafter “Keim”), in uniform and driving a marked vehicle, arrived after Haymaker and Car-others. HT1, p. 104.

5. Paul reported to 911 and to Caroth-ers, Keim and Haymaker that the Defendant assaulted her and that he remained in the house, while Paul remained outside of the house. HT1, pp. 6, 89; Government Exhibit 1.

6. Paul while speaking with the police officers was “in a body cast from her waist to her neck area, and she indicated she was in a previous car accident and she was wearing a cast because she had 12 broken ribs”; Paul was prescribed and was taking various pain medications at this time including percocet, fentanyl patches and oxy-contin. HT1, p. 6; Hearing Transcript of February 1, 2008 (hereinafter “HT2”), pp. 8-9,16.

7. Paul was crying and appeared to be in pain according to Haymaker’s observations; Paul indicated that “in an [altercation] over a T-shirt” the Defendant “began to slam her against the walls in the house”. HT1, p. 7.

8. Paul refused medical treatment, but requested that the Defendant be arrested. HT1, pp. 7, 40-41, 60, 90, 95.

9. Paul did not have the keys to the house, all of its doors were locked and the Defendant was inside the home. HT1, pp. 6, 96.

10. Paul indicated to the three police officers on the scene that she and the Defendant had “a large, very aggressive Pit Bull inside the house”; the officers surrounded the house and the officers at the front and back doors knocked and all three announced their presence and identity as Johnstown Police Officers with the third officer standing to the side of the house; the home was a “duplex” with a second home within the other half of the structure. HT1, pp. 8-12; Government Exhibit 2-6.

11. The police officers yelled to the Defendant inside that they were not leaving and that they would enter the home to arrest him if he did not “surrender”. HT1, pp. 13, 90.

12. After continual knocking and announcing “for a few minutes” with no response and the pit bull barking, Paul’s twelve year old daughter, Tila 2 Madden (hereinafter “Madden”), arrived on the scene 3 and she agreed to secure the dog after one of the police officers would breach the back door so that the police officers could enter the home and arrest the Defendant. HT1, pp. 13, 90.

13. Madden in response to questioning by Carothers indicated that the Defendant possessed a firearm and that the firearm *536 was similar in size to Carothers’ “department-issued weapon” “a 40 caliber Beretta” as opposed to a long rifle. HT1, pp. 91-93, 98-99. 4

14. Paul indicated that there were no firearms within the home, but the Defendant had “an electronic stun gun, a taser type gun.” HT1, pp. 109-110, 117-118 5

15. Paul did not have any keys to the home, did not want to involve her landlord and did not give consent to Haymaker, Carothers and Keim to enter the home to arrest the Defendant and obtain the taser gun inside. HT1, pp. 44, 96, 105; compare HT1, pp. 110, 117-118 with Defendant’s Exhibit l 6 , pp. 5, 7-8; HT2, pp. 10-11.

16. On the issue of consent, Haymaker described the nature of Paul’s “consent”:

Q. Okay. Now, Erica never agreed to having the door kicked in, correct?

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Bluebook (online)
574 F. Supp. 2d 530, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70179, 2008 WL 4068467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-williams-pawd-2008.