United States v. Winstanley

359 F. Supp. 146, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13863
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedApril 26, 1973
DocketCrim. A. 72-517
StatusPublished

This text of 359 F. Supp. 146 (United States v. Winstanley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Winstanley, 359 F. Supp. 146, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13863 (E.D. La. 1973).

Opinion

*148 ON MOTION TO SUPPRESS

CASSIBRY, District Judge:

I. FINDINGS OF FACT

1.

At approximately 12:30 P.M. on September 2, 1972, Mr. Harold Hebert, a ticket agent with Delta Air Lines was preparing to board passengers at Gate 35 at New Orleans International Airport for a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Montgomery, Alabama.

2.

At that time he was approached by defendant Kenneth Winstanley who fit what was commonly called the “hijack profile.” Mr. Winstanley brought one piece of luggage with him to the gate for pre-flight check-in.

3.

Security procedures then in force 1 required that anyone fitting the hijack profile had to produce proper identification, undergo- a magnetometer cheek, and submit to a search of all carry-on luggage before being permitted to board the aircraft. These procedures were normally undertaken by Delta Air Lines personnel. United States Marshals were constantly on duty at the airport, but conducted these security operations only in exceptional circumstances, as explained in more detail below.

A passenger singled out for special processing due to his resemblance to the “hijack profile” normally was not advised initially of the full scope of the search he had to undergo. Instead each succeeding step was revealed to him if, as, and when he surmounted the previous one. If at any stage a prospective passenger objected to a particular security measure, a marshal was summoned. Only if a “searchee" thereafter remained adamant in his refusal to undergo a particular step in the process was he informed that while he could not be forced to submit to it, he would be refused permission to board unless he did consent. The options available to a recalcitrant profile subject, in other words, were not made known to him prior to the onset of the security procedure.

4.

The general procedures outlined above were followed in processing Mr. Winstanley. Agent Hebert, 2 pursuant to general regulations, requested Mr. Winstanley to produce identification. He did so, and the identification appeared to be satisfactory. He next informed the defendant of the necessity of submitting to a magnetometer search and a baggage check.

5.

■ At this point, defendant Winstanley became visibly nervous and upset. He told Agent Hebert that he had to return to the main terminal to get another bag. He picked up the one piece of luggage that he had brought with -him originally and walked back down the concourse towards the main terminal.

6.

Agent Hebert by this time had become very suspicious of the defendant. He called over his fellow Delta employee, Mr. Robert Dupuy, Jr., who was to conduct the magnetometer and luggage searches that day, and told him to be sure to examine Mr. Winstanley very carefully when he returned.

7.

Mr. Winstanley returned to the boarding gate shortly thereafter, carrying only the one piece of luggage he had had previously. He submitted to the additional search procedures without objec *149 tion. He successfully passed the magnetometer test, and Mr. Dupuy opened his luggage to conduct a weapons search.

8.

A thorough examination of Mr. Winstanley’s luggage ensued. Although no weapons were found, Mr. Dupuy could not help but observe a clear plastic “baggie”-like pouch that contained a substance resembling marijuana.

9.

Agent Dupuy decided to inform a United States Marshal, Mr. Seybold of his belief that Mr. Winstanley was transporting contraband. Apparently this is a standard practice. Although the Delta employees have received no instructions from the marshals on how to search for drugs, they have as a matter of practical experience accumulated, a certain expertise in that regard; and while they are not under direct orders to report such occurrences, as a matter of course they will forward any knowledge respecting drugs gleaned from their weapons searches to a United States Marshal, who in turn will pass that information on to agents of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

10.

Although Agent Dupuy attempted to conceal his suspicions regarding the contents of the “baggie” from the defendant and to inform the marshals thereof 0 surreptitiously, Mr. Winstanley apparently realized that he had been uncovered, and made an effort to dispose of the package. He removed it from his suitcase, walked across the concourse to a trash receptacle, and placed it inside. This was done in. the plain view of both Agent Hebert and Agent Dupuy.

11.

When Marshal Seybold, in the company of another Marshal, arrived on the scene moments later, the defendant was still standing in the vicinity of the trash container. The marshals were informed, of the events that had transpired by Agents Hebert and Dupuy, including the defendant’s attempt to dispose of the incriminating evidence. The marshals in the company of the two Delta employees then approached Mr. Winstanley, and the marshals began to interrogate the defendant regarding the package.

12.

Marshal Seybold retrieved the plastic pouch from the waste container and asked the defendant whether he had thrown anything into that receptacle. Mr. Winstanley replied that the package was not his. At this point Marshal Seybold confronted the defendant with the stories of Agents Dupuy and Hebert associating him with it. Allegedly Mr. Winstanley changed his story, admitted ownership of the contraband, and pleaded for mercy. Only after this admission had been elicited was Mr. Winstanley told that he was under arrest and advised of his Miranda rights.

13.

From the, time the marshals first approached Mr. Winstanley, their investigation had narrowed to the point where he was a suspect — the only suspect — in a potential possessory drug offense case. Based on the information supplied to him by Agents Dupuy and Hebert, Marshal Seybold would have been derelict in his duty had he failed to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident. I find that Marshal Seybold had ample grounds at least to detain the defendant until the contents of the package could be analyzed, and that he intended to do so from the time these facts were first called to his attention.

14.

I further find that Marshal Seybold’s testimony to the • effect that when the marshals initially spoke to the defendant he was free to leave is not credible; and that Mr. Winstanley was in fact under arrest from the very beginning of his conversation with the marshals.

*150 15.

Subsequent to his arrest on the concourse, Mr. Winstanley was taken downstairs to an office. A pat-down on the concourse had revealed certain bulges and lumps in the defendant’s coat. Although the marshals did not believe these items were weapons, once they got to the office, they thoroughly searched the defendant’s person.

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Bluebook (online)
359 F. Supp. 146, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13863, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-winstanley-laed-1973.