United States v. Brown

1

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ROBERT JURSALUM BROWN, Defendant

CRIMINAL No. 1:21-CR-9

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania

December 21, 2022

MEMORANDUM

Christopher C. Conner, United States District Judge.

Defendant Robert Brown moves to suppress evidence of drug trafficking obtained during a search of his apartment and vehicle pursuant to a warrant. He also moves for a hearing pursuant to Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978). We will deny both requests.

I. Factual Background^[1]

On May 19, 2020, Harrisburg Bureau of Police Detective Jason Paul-then an 18-year veteran of the force with hundreds of drug investigations under his belt- received a tip from a confidential informant that an individual was dealing drugs in the city. (See Doc. 46-3 at 2; 9/2/20 Tr 3:11-4:8, 5:1-5, 9:11-16). The informant came to Detective Paul's attention via the Swatara Township Police Department, whose officers had arrested the informant after observing him buying drugs from a vehicle investigators later learned was registered to Brown. (See 9/2/20 Tr. 9:23-10:11).

After their arrest, the informant expressed an interest in cooperating with law enforcement. (See Id. at 10:12-19).

Detective Paul and his colleagues commenced an investigation into the alleged drug dealer with the informant's assistance. (See id. at 5:1-5). The investigation developed along the following lines: During an initial meeting with Detective Paul, the informant indicated they could purchase crack cocaine from an individual going by the street name “Gangster,” whom they described as a “tall black male with very long braids.” (See Doc. 46 at 2). The informant described Gangster as driving a blue car and provided a cell phone number they claimed Gangster used to arrange drug deals. (See id.) They also admitted to visiting Gangster's residence on the corner of Penn and Calder Streets in Harrisburg, and reported that when Gangster was not selling drugs from his residence he would do so from the city's “hill area.”^[2](See id.) According to the affidavit, “[a]t that time,” Detective Paul “believed this male to be Robert Brown.” (Id.) The informant agreed to return the next day to conduct a controlled purchase. (See id.)

Detective Paul met the informant at approximately 10:00 a.m. on May 20 and drove them to the intersection at Penn and Calder Streets. (See id.) There the informant identified the apartment building at 205 Calder Street as Gangster's residence. (See id.) The informant positively identified Brown as Gangster from a photograph Detective Paul displayed. (See id.) The informant then placed a call to the cell phone number they previously provided to the detective and ordered a quantity of crack cocaine from the person who answered. (See id.) That individual agreed to the sale and told the informant to meet him in a nearby alley. (See id.) Surveillance units got into position at the meetup location while Detective Paul searched the informant to confirm they did not possess any contraband or United States currency. (See id.) The detective then accompanied the informant to the alley and listened as they called the dealer back to say they had arrived. (See id.) Before exiting Detective Paul's vehicle, the informant received prerecorded funds with which to complete the transaction. (See id.) The informant did not meet with anyone else or leave the investigators' sights. (See id.)

As the informant walked to the meetup spot, another detective who had been monitoring 205 Calder Street broadcast that someone had just exited the rear of the residence and was heading toward the informant's location. (See id.) That person was Robert Brown. (See id.) Brown approached the informant and conducted a hand-to-hand exchange, which detectives caught on camera. (See id.) The informant quickly parted ways with Brown, returned to Detective Paul, and relinquished a quantity of crack cocaine; they no longer had any of the prerecorded bills on their person. (See id.) Brown walked back to 205 Calder Street, where the surveilling detective noted he did not use the exterior stairs to reach the second or third floor apartments, leading the detective to believe Brown resided on the first floor. (See id.) Detective Paul returned to 205 Calder Street in a vehicle the next morning to assess whether the rear entrance led directly into an apartment or to a communal hallway. (See id.) As he drove past, he saw Brown standing on the back porch of the residence near an open door. (See id.)

On May 28, Detective Paul met with the informant to plan another controlled buy. (See id.) The second transaction largely tracked the first, except Brown told the informant to enter the front door of 205 Calder Street to complete the sale. (See id.) Detective Paul searched the informant, gave them prerecorded funds, and dropped them off nearby. (See id.) The informant entered the building and returned “within seconds” sans cash and with more crack cocaine in hand. (See id.) The informant told the detective they believed Brown lived on the first floor because they heard a door shut as soon as they walked in and immediately saw Brown open the door to the interior hallway. (See id.) Unlike the first transaction, no investigators witnessed this exchange.

Detectives conducted a third controlled purchase with the informant's assistance on June 2. Around 10:00 a.m., the informant called Brown, who told them to go to a gas station at North 6th and Maclay Streets. (See id.) Police officers searched the informant before driving them to the meetup location and giving them marked bills. (See id.) At the gas station, investigators observed a blue Nissan Maxima idling at a gas pump; the vehicle's license plate number was registered to Brown. (See id.) The informant approached the vehicle, got into the front passenger seat, and exited after a few seconds, leaving the area on foot. (See id.) A detective picked up the informant, who again handed over quantities of cocaine. (See id.) Investigators then followed Brown to 205 Calder Street and watched him enter the front door of the building. (See id.) Later that afternoon, Detective Paul contacted a parole officer who confirmed Brown was on parole for a state offense and lived in Apartment #1 at 205 Calder Street, which comprises “the entire 1st floor of the building.” (See id.)

Detective Paul subsequently applied for a warrant to search Brown's residence and vehicle along with the building's curtilage based on information ascertained in his investigation. (See Id. at 1-3). Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge Pianka approved the warrant. (See id. at 1). Early on the morning of June 5, members of the Dauphin County Crisis Response Team (“CRT”) went to Brown's apartment to execute the warrant. (See 9/2/20 Tr. 4:19-23). CRT officers knocked on the door to Apartment #1 and identified themselves as police. (See Id. at 6:1-3). Receiving no response but hearing “some rustling around” inside, they forcibly entered the apartment. (See id. at 6:6-7, 13:18-14:2).^[3] Brown stood in the doorway to the bathroom. (See id. at 6:7-9). After being detained and Mirandized, Brown denied he had contraband inside the apartment. (See id. at 6:9-21). Detective Paul searched the bathroom, where he retrieved a baggie containing approximately 23 grams of crack cocaine from the toilet bowl. (See id. at 6:21-7:4).

Investigators recovered approximately $12,000 in cash from Brown's apartment. (See id. at 7:19-21). Nearly the entire hoard consisted of $20 bills, though detectives found none of the prerecorded bills used in the controlled buys. (See Id. at 8:7-9, 14:23-15:9). When one of the officers called the phone number provided by the informant, a cell phone lying next to Brown's bed began to ring. (See id. at 8:14-19, 18:24-19:6). Detectives discovered four bags containing between three and four grams of a substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine hidden under a rock in the fenced-in portion of Brown's backyard. (See id. at 7:1418, 8:20-9:4, 15:10-16:16, 17:17-19). They also found $2,000 inside Brown's vehicle. (See id. at 8:12-13).

II. Procedural History

The Commonwealth charged Brown with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. On September 2, 2020, Judge Pianka held a preliminary hearing to assess whether the charge against Brown was supported by prima facie evidence. Detective Paul testified at the hearing regarding the investigation into Brown's alleged criminal activities and the search of his home, and Judge Pianka held the case for court. Thereafter, in February 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Brown on four counts of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) arising from his arrest by state authorities. Brown pled not guilty and now moves to suppress all evidence seized from his residence and vehicle. The motion is fully briefed and ripe for disposition.

III. Discussion

Brown asserts a Franks hearing is warranted because Detective Paul's answers under cross-examination at the preliminary hearing supposedly contradict his averments in the affidavit of probable cause and because he omitted certain facts about the informant. (See Doc. 47 at 2-5, 7-8). Brown also urges the court to suppress the evidence seized from his apartment and vehicle on the ground that the warrant was unsupported by probable cause. (See Id. at 7-11). We address each claim seriatim.

A. Franks Hearing

A criminal defendant may challenge the truthfulness of factual statements contained in an affidavit of probable cause through what is commonly referred to as a Franks hearing. See generally Franks, 438 U.S. 154. A defendant seeking a Franks hearing must make “a substantial preliminary showing” that the...