Laroche v. Chapman

LAWRENCE LAROCHE, III andPARKER LAROCHE, Plaintiffs, v. CHRISTOPHER CHAPMAN, et al., Defendants.

No. 2:19-CV-118

United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia Brunswick Division

July 7, 2021

ORDER

Before the Court are cross motions for summary judgment: Plaintiffs' partial Motion for Summary Judgment, dkt. no. 26, and Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, dkt. no. 29. For the reasons stated below, both motions are DENIED.

BACKGROUND

This case arises from a search of Plaintiffs' residence by the McIntosh County Sheriff's Department in the late hours of January 24, 2018 or the early hours of January 25, 2018. Dkt. No. 26-2 ¶¶ 1, 2; Dkt. No. 29-2 ¶¶ 1, 10. Plaintiffs Lawrence LaRoche, III ("Larry") and Parker LaRoche ("Parker") are first cousins who were both living in Larry's mobile home at the time of the search. Dkt. No. 26-2 ¶¶ 1; Dkt. No. 29-5 at 19. Larry's son, Lawrence LaRoche, IV ("Chance"), lived in Trailer A-3 in the Buccaneer Trailer Park, which is about a mile from Plaintiffs' residence, at the time of the search. Dkt. No. 26-5 ¶¶ 1, 2; Dkt. No. 29-2 ¶ 4. The address of Plaintiffs' residence is unclear: it is either 1023 or 1028 River Dance Loop, in either Townsend, Georgia or Crescent, Georgia. Compare, e.g., Dkt. No. 26-2 ¶ 1 (Plaintiffs' Statement of Facts describing the address as 1023 River Dance Loop in Townsend, Georgia) with Dkt. No. 26-4 at 18-22 (search warrant and corresponding affidavit describing the address as 1028 River Dance Loop in Crescent, Georgia). The residence is undisputedly located in McIntosh County, Georgia. Dkt. No. 26-2 ¶ 1.

Defendants are law enforcement officers with the McIntosh County Sheriff's Department. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 6; cf. Dkt. No. 8 at 4 (Defendants denying Plaintiffs' statement to this effect "as worded"); but see Dkt. No. 29-2 at 3 (Defendants arguing that they are protected by qualified and official immunity as "officers"). Defendant Karone Robinson ("Deputy Robinson") was in charge of the search at Plaintiffs' residence, and Defendant Michael Melton ("Deputy Melton") wrote the search warrant at issue. Dkt. No. 26-2 ¶¶ 18, 20; Dkt. No. 57 ¶ 18. Along with Deputies Robinson and Melton, the other Defendants were present during the search of Plaintiffs' residence. See Dkt. No. 57 ¶ 4 (referring to "Defendants' entry into . . . the residence").

I. Defendants' Timeline

Defendants claim to have performed a controlled buy with a confidential informant (the "CI") prior to the search of Plaintiffs' residence.¹ See Dkt. No. 29-2 ¶¶ 1-6. According to Defendants, Deputy Robinson arranged for the CI to purchase drugs and a firearm from an individual named Roger Blauvelt on the evening of January 24, 2018. Id. ¶ 1; Dkt. No. 57 ¶ 6. Defendants provide a video/audio exhibit from the controlled buy: the video is approximately one hour and forty-five minutes long, and Deputy Robinson starts the video by filming his watch (on which the time displayed is mostly illegible) and stating that "it is Wednesday, January 24th, 9:35 hours." Dkt. No. 38-5; Dkt. No. 38-4 ¶ 7. The beginning of the video appears to be filmed outdoors, and it appears to be dark outside, supporting Deputy Robinson's contention that "9:35 hours" refers to 9:35 p.m. Dkt. No. 38-5; Dkt. No. 38-4 ¶ 7. Defendants contend this video evidences a sequence of events, starting with the CI's meeting with Roger Blauvelt in Trailer A-3 of the Buccaneer Trailer Park; Mr. Blauvelt's telling the CI that drugs and a gun were in a different location; the CI's following Mr. Blauvelt in a separate car down the road to the other location; the CI and Mr. Blauvelt's arrivingat Plaintiffs' residence; and at Plaintiffs' residence, Chance LaRoche's taking the CI's money and handing the CI an amount of methamphetamine and a Glock 21 .45 caliber handgun. See Dkt. No. 26-4 at 20-21; Dkt. No. 38-4 ¶¶ 9-10. Defendants contend the video demonstrates that the CI's purchase from Chance LaRoche at Plaintiffs' residence occurred at 10:38 p.m. on January 24, 2018. Dkt. No. 38 at 6. Based on Defendants' contention that the video begins at 9:35 p.m., the one-hour-and-forty-five-minute video ends at approximately 11:20 p.m. See id.; dkt. no. 38-5.

Deputy Robinson attests that he met with the CI after the surveilled purchase, asked Deputy Melton to type an affidavit for a search warrant of Plaintiffs' residence, and then traveled with Deputy Melton to McIntosh County Magistrate Judge Smith's home to obtain the search warrant. Dkt. No. 38-4 ¶¶ 11-13; Dkt. No. 29-4 at 27. Deputy Robinson recounts that he presented the warrant and affidavit along with oral statements under oath to Judge Smith in support of the application, and that Judge Smith signed the search warrant at 1:00 a.m. Dkt. No. 38-4 at ¶¶ 13-14. The subject search warrant reflects a written time next to Judge Smith's signature of 1:00 a.m. on January 25th, 2018. Dkt. No. 26-4 at 24. The warrant contains a "No-Knock Clause," which allows entry to be made without knocking, and an "Other Parties Clause," which allows officers to search any occupants of the residence. Id. at 26-27. The search warrant authorizes the search of a residencelocated at "1028 River Dance Loop" in "CRESCENT, GA 31304" for the purpose of seizing, inter alia, controlled substances, currency, and firearms. Id. at 22-24. The search warrant describes Plaintiffs' residence as a double-wide trailer, but Larry LaRoche describes his home as a single-wide. Compare Dkt. No. 29-5 at 12 with Dkt. No. 26-4 at 18, 22. The search warrant further describes "[t]he front of the house [as] fac[ing] River Dance Loop" with "steps going up to the front door." Dkt. No. 26-4 at 22.

After obtaining the search warrant, Deputies Robinson and Melton briefed the other Defendants on the operation; Defendants then traveled to Plaintiffs' residence to perform the subject search. Dkt. No. 29-4 at 10. Defendants contend they arrived at Plaintiffs' residence at approximately 2:00 a.m., immediately encountered Chance LaRoche exiting the residence, and arrested Chance at 2:01 a.m. See Dkt. No. 29-2 ¶ 9; Dkt. No. 57 ¶ 6; Dkt. No. 26-4 at 12. Defendants then entered Plaintiffs' residence without knocking and began to perform their search. Dkt. No. 29-4 at 10.

The actual return of service reflects the time of execution as 12:30 a.m. on January 25, 2018. Dkt. No. 26-4 at 28. Deputy Robinson seeks to account for the time discrepancy by explaining that he "inadvertently listed the wrong time for the execution of the search warrant" in this Return of Service "[d]ue to the time that had passed since the search of the residence." See Dkt. No.38-4 ¶¶ 16, 18-19. For reasons unknown to the Court at this time, the return of service was filed on July 30, 2018, which was over six months after the search occurred. See Dkt. No. 26-4 at 28.

Defendants found Plaintiff Larry LaRoche in one bedroom and Plaintiff Parker LaRoche in another bedroom on the opposite side of the house. Dkt. No. 29-4 at 10-11. Defendants handcuffed Plaintiffs and brought them into the living room or the kitchen, where Plaintiffs sat while Defendants searched the residence. Id. at 11; Dkt. No. 29-6 at 26-27; Dkt. No. 57 ¶¶ 7, 12. Defendants did not find any relevant evidence during their search of Plaintiffs' residence. Dkt. No. 26-4 at 9, 28. Defendants claim that they left a copy of the warrant at the residence, removed Plaintiffs' handcuffs, and told Plaintiffs "they were free and to have a nice day." Id. at 28; Dkt. No. 57 ¶¶ 7, 30.

Finally, Defendants traveled to Trailer A-3 in the Buccaneer Trailer Park to arrest Roger Blauvelt for the illegal sale of a firearm and narcotics. Dkt. No. 57 ¶ 27; Dkt. No. 26-4 at 7, 8. Defendants knocked on the trailer's door, told the person who answered (a woman named Rachel Smith) that it was the Sheriff's Office, and then arrested Mr. Blauvelt. Dkt. No. 26-4 at 7, 8.

II. Plaintiffs' Timeline

Plaintiffs' version of the facts differs substantially from Defendants' both in substance and in timing. Plaintiffs argue that the facts show two main things: first, Defendants' CI may nothave existed at all, and second, Defendants did not obtain the search warrant until after they searched Plaintiffs' residence. Dkt. No. 27-1 at 2. Plaintiffs' version of the facts starts at about 10:00 p.m. on January 24, 2018, when they allege Defendants "burst into" Plaintiffs' residence while Plaintiffs were sleeping. Dkt. No. 26-2 ¶¶ 1-2. Barbara Thomas, Larry's neighbor, attests that she saw police vehicles approach Larry's home at about 9:45 p.m.; she estimates the time the police entered Larry's home to be about 10:00 p.m. Dkt. No. 26-6 ¶¶ 3-4, 10-11. Chance LaRoche also testified that he saw police approach Plaintiffs' residence "between 9:45 and 10:15 p.m." Dkt. No. 26-5 ¶¶ 3-5. Larry "guesstimated" that the search began at about 12:00 a.m. on January 25, 2018, and Parker "guesstimated" that the search began at about 1:00 a.m.² Dkt. No. 26-2 ¶¶ 9, 10. Chance attests that he was at his father's home doing laundry the evening of January 24, 2018, and he saw police cars arrive between 9:45 and 10:15 a.m. Id. ¶¶ 3-5.

Chance alleges that upon seeing the police, he went outside, walked toward Ms. Thomas's home, and was arrested by two deputies "dressed in SWAT gear" who took him to his father's front porch. Id. ¶¶ 5-9. Larry testified that he was sleeping unclothed andawakened by the police, that the police handcuffed him and took him to the kitchen without allowing him to put on clothing, and that he sat six to seven feet from the kitchen door that was opened to the outside for approximately an hour while the police searched the house. Dkt. No. 29-5 at 27-30. Parker says he was also awoken by police "screaming and shouting" and sticking lights and weapons "in [his] face," the police handcuffed him and took him to the living room, and he sat on the couch for about two or three hours while the police conducted the search. Dkt. No. 29-7 at 26-29. Plaintiffs claim ...