United States v. Bacon

David C. Weiss, Maureen McCartney, Jesse S. Wenger, and Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe, U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, DISTRICT OF DELAWARE, Wilmington, DE Attorneys for United States

Edson A. Bostic, THE BOSTIC LAW FIRM, Philadelphia, PA Conor Wilson, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Wilmington, DE Attorneys for Defendant Bacon

Jose Luis Ongay, LAW OFFICES OF JOSE LUIS ONGAY, Plymouth Meeting, PA Attorney for Defendant Pritchett

Michael N. Huff, LAW OFFICES OF MICHAEL N. HUFF, Philadelphia, PA Attorney for Defendant Oliver

Luis A. Ortiz, LAW OFFICES OF LUIS A. ORTIZ, Philadelphia, PA Attorney for Defendant Cooper

Christopher G. Furlong, LAW OFFICES OF CHRISTOPHER G. FURLONG, Media, PA Attorney for Defendant Tinnin

MEMORANDUM OPINION

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STARK, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

Defendants Ryan Bacon, Michael Pritchett, Dion Oliver, Maurice Cooper, and Teres Tinnin (collectively, "Defendants") were indicted on multiple criminal charges. Specifically, all five Defendants are charged with (i) conspiracy to stalk, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 ("Count One"); (ii) stalking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2261A(2)(A) ("Count Two"); (iii) conspiracy to commit kidnapping, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a) & (c) ("Count Three"); and (iv) use and/or carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) ("Count Five"). Additionally, Bacon, Pritchett, Oliver, and Cooper are charged with kidnapping, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1) & (2) ("Count Four"). (See generally D.I. 106)

Defendants filed a variety of pretrial motions. Pritchett moves to suppress evidence obtained from two cellphones (D.I. 169) and to exclude videos from his Snapchat account (D.I. 170). Bacon similarly requests that the Court exclude audio and video recordings of his rap music. (D.I. 184) Tinnin asks the Court to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his apartment. (D.I. 173) Oliver moves to suppress cell site location information, pen register and trap and trace ("PRTT") information, and physical evidence obtained pursuant to allegedly faulty court orders and search warrants. (D.I. 171, 187) Moreover, Oliver seeks to dismiss the firearms charge (Count Five) on the grounds that the predicate offense, stalking (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2261A(2)(A)), does not qualify as a "crime of violence" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A). (D.I. 171) Tinnin wants to sever his trial from the trial for the other four defendants. (D.I. 172) Pritchett, Tinnin, and Bacon all request early notice of any evidence that the government must disclose under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). (D.I. 168, 175, 178)

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Finally, each defendant seeks to join the motions of the other defendants. (D.L 167, 171, 174, 176, 177, 186)

For the reasons explained below, the Court will: (i) deny as moot Tinnin's motion to suppress, (ii) deny the remaining motions to suppress, (iii) hold the motions to exclude in abeyance so that the government may respond in accordance with the schedule for motions in limine, (iv) deny Oliver's motion to dismiss Count Five, (v) deny Tinnin's motion for severance, (vi) deny as moot the motions regarding Rule 404(b) evidence, and (vii) grant in part and deny in part Defendants' motions to join.

BACKGROUND^[1]

Defendants Ryan Bacon, Michael Pritchett, Dion Oliver, Maurice Cooper, and Teres Tinnin have known each other for many years, and they have also associated with Dontae Sykes. In 2014, Bacon (under the name "Buck 50") released a rap video in which he was standing next to Oliver and Tinnin. As part of the song, Bacon called another individual, Markevis Stanford, a "rat." Later that year, Oliver was shot, and he told a friend it was Stanford's fault.

Several years later, in April 2017, tensions between Defendants and Stanford resurfaced when Bacon released another rap song called "Conversations with Pac." This song, too, referred to a "rat," evidently in reference to Stanford.

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Shortly thereafter, Stanford and a friend saw Bacon driving around Wilmington, Delaware. Stanford offered his friend $10, 000 if he killed Bacon, and Stanford gave him a gun and a mask. When Stanford's friend tried to kill Bacon, the gun failed to work, so he was unsuccessful.

In May 2017, Stanford and his friend saw Pritchett and Tinnin on a Wilmington street and stole money and jewelry from them. Pritchett and Tinnin alerted Bacon, Oliver, Cooper, Sykes, and others about the robbery, and the group talked about increasing the size of a reward for killing Stanford or for information leading to Stanford's death.

About a week later, Cooper saw Stanford and his friend walking on the street and shot at them multiple times. Stanford and his friend shot back. After the shooting, a local bail bondsman told Bacon and Oliver that they could use a database to see whether Stanford was in custody as a result of the shooting. Stanford was in custody at the state correctional institution at the time, but he posted bail and was released at the beginning of June.

A few days after Stanford's release, Pritchett learned that Stanford was probably staying with his girlfriend, Keyonna Perkins, in Newark, Delaware. During the night of June 5-6, 2017, Pritchett called the other defendants and Sykes to tell them what he had learned. Early in the morning, Pritchett and Sykes swapped their vehicles for their respective girlfriends' cars.

By 8:00 a.m. that morning, Bacon, Pritchett, Oliver, Cooper, and Sykes had gathered by Perkins' apartment. Tinnin was not with them; he was nearby at his own apartment in Newark. Bacon, Pritchett, Oliver, Cooper, and Sykes waited in their cars by Perkins' red Camaro, which they knew Stanford often drove.

After a few hours of waiting, Bacon, Pritchett, Oliver, Cooper, and Sykes saw Perkins get

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into her car. They followed her to a local fast food restaurant and back to her apartment complex. When she exited her vehicle, Oliver approached her with a gun, told her to get back into her car, and demanded that she give him her apartments keys and cellphone. Oliver gave the keys to the others, who went to search for Stanford in Perkins' apartment. Text messages were also sent from Perkins' phone in an attempt to locate Stanford.

Around 11:40 a.m., Stanford responded that he was by the intersection of Routes 896 and 40 in Newark. Tinnin, who had since left his apartment, also called Pritchett to let him know that he (Tinnin) had seen Stanford walking on Route 896. Bacon, Pritchett, Oliver, Cooper, and Sykes forced Perkins to get in the trunk of one of their cars, and they all drove toward Stanford.

About ten minutes later, the group found Stanford walking along Route 896. They pulled over to the side of the road, and multiple group members shot at him. Stanford was not hit. Tinnin called the group to tell them that Stanford was unharmed.

Bacon, Pritchett, Oliver, Cooper, and Sykes drove both cars to a church parking lot, where they blindfolded Perkins and forced her to get into the trunk of the other car. Bacon and Sykes took her to Elkton, Maryland. After driving down a gravel road into a wooded area, they fatally shot Perkins five times.

Pritchett and Oliver returned Pritchett's girlfriend's car to her, and Pritchett took back his distinctive white pickup truck with red racing stripes. Pritchett, Oliver, and Cooper then traveled back to Wilmington.

A couple of hours later, Defendants learned that Stanford had been seen by the probation and parole office in New Castle, Delaware. At about 2:00 p.m., Pritchett and Oliver saw Stanford get into a car there and followed him as he rode to Wilmington.

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Around 2:30 p.m., Stanford exited the car by 6th and Spruce Streets in Wilmington. Oliver shot at Stanford multiple times from Pritchett's truck. Oliver's shots did not hit Stanford, but one hit the head of a six-year-old boy riding in a nearby vehicle. The boy survived, but is now permanently disabled.

The next day, Bacon, Pritchett, Oliver, Tinnin, and Sykes gathered at Tinnin's apartment in Newark to discuss a plan to hide Pritchett's truck and to dispose of the guns that were involved in the shootings on Route 896 and at 6th and Spruce Streets. The gums were hidden in a wooden area close to Tinnin's apartment.

That afternoon, Pritchett drove his truck toward Seaford, Delaware, while Oliver and Sykes followed him. About an hour into the drive, the police stopped Pritchett's truck and arrested him. During the arrest, the police seized one phone from Pritchett and another phone from his truck.

State and federal law enforcement started investigating. As part of their investigations, law enforcement sought and received various court orders and search warrants. Some court orders permitted law enforcement to obtain historical cell site location information ("CSLI") for Defendants' phones.

As a result of the state investigation, the State of Delaware brought racketeering and other charges against all Defendants and Sykes in 2017 and 2018. Pritchett was already in state custody for his role in the shooting at 6th and Spruce Streets, and Cooper was already in state custody for firearms charges. Bacon, Tinnin, and Oliver were not in custody at that time; they were apprehended in Atlanta, Georgia in August 2018.

On October 4, 2018, a grand jury in the District of Delaware indicted Defendants and

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Sykes on multiple counts related to the shootings and Perkins' kidnapping. (D J. 3) A few months later, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment, which added a firearms charge against all Defendants and Sykes. (D.I. 61) Sykes pleaded guilty to the charges against him. (D.I. 98) In March 2020, a grand jury...