United States v. Jackson

638 F.Supp.3d 622

UNITED STATES of America v. Michael S. JACKSON, Defendant.

Criminal No. 4:22cr53

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Newport News Division

Signed November 1, 2022

Amy E. Cross, Julie Podlesni, U.S. Attorneys, Office of the United States Attorney, Newport News, VA, for United States of America.

Andrew William Grindrod, Public Defender, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Norfolk, VA, for Defendant.

ORDER

Arenda L. Wright Allen, United States District Judge

Pending before the Court is a Motion to Suppress (the "Motion") brought by Defendant Michael S. Jackson. ECF No. 21. The parties appeared before the Court on October 26, 2022 for a hearing on the instant Motion. For the following reasons, the Motion (ECF No. 21) is GRANTED.

I. BACKGROUND

The facts below are obtained from a combination of the audio and video recordings from police body camera footage, briefing and exhibits submitted by the parties, and evidence and argument presented during the suppression hearing. Defendant Michael S. Jackson and the Government submitted police body camera footage as exhibits to the Motion to Suppress (ECF No. 21), Response in Opposition (ECF No. 22), and the suppression hearing (ECF No. 43).

A. Victim's 911 call

On or about April 26, 2022, Defendant was on indefinite supervision in connection with his 2015 conviction for shooting into the vehicle of the mother of four of his children ("Victim"). Resp. in Opp'n at 3, ECF No. 22. Defendant's supervision had been revoked once before, and he was determined to have absconded from supervision two weeks earlier on or about April 12, 2022. Id. (citing Bond Report at 6, ECF No. 11). Two capias warrants for his arrest had been issued after he failed to appear for hearings in two different jurisdictions: (1) a March 11, 2022 preliminary hearing in the Virginia Beach General District Court on a felony drug possession (methamphetamine) charge; and (2) a February 1, 2022 hearing in Hampton Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on domestic violence charges (Assault & Battery of a Family Member, Strangulation Resulting in Bodily Injury, and Grand Larceny). Id. The latter hearing was related to Defendant strangling Victim and refusing to return her phone after seeing a photo of her sitting with another man on it. Id. An Emergency Protective Order was also served upon Defendant in connection with this case. Id. (citing Bond Report at 7-8, ECF No. 11).

On April 26, 2022 at approximately 12:25 pm, Victim called 911 to alert law enforcement that Defendant was currently driving a red 2013 Nissan Rogue, had outstanding warrants, and had weapons and drugs in the vehicle. Mot. to Suppress at 2, ECF No. 21. Victim begged to remain anonymous, cried, apologized, and relayed her observations in real time to get Defendant help. Resp. in Opp'n at 3, ECF No. 22. During the phone call, Victim stated she did not want the call related back to her. Resp. in Opp'n at 3-4, ECF No. 22 (citing Gov't Ex. 1B, Victim Call, at 0:22, 1:08). After requesting to stay anonymous, Victim freely gave her name and history with Defendant because she conceded that Defendant would likely eventually find out that she called 911. Id. at 4. She stated that she had a protective order against Defendant that expired on approximately December 4, 2021, because he strangled her after finding out that she was pregnant again. Gov't Ex. 1B, Victim Call, at 8:48-8:59.

Victim described the vehicle Defendant was driving as a 2013 red Nissan Rogue and gave the exact license plate number (ending in -8056). Id. at 1:21-1:48. She stated that the vehicle was registered in her name only, "so I can do this." Id. at 4:05-4:10. With respect to items in the vehicle, Victim stated that Defendant had three guns, heroin, and fentanyl in the car. Id. at 0:18-0:23. Victim described Defendant as wearing a camouflage bucket hat, matching camouflage pants, and a gray Champion shirt with red behind the Champion letters. Id. at 5:54-6:08. Victim described Defendant as a "very light skin" Black man who "could pass for white if he wanted to and you didn't see his hair texture." Id. at 2:20-2:36. She described Defendant as having short hair. Id. at 6:40. Victim also described Defendant as having a tattoo on the side of his neck that says "forever" and two tattoos in bright red of the letter "R" behind each ear. Id. at 6:16-6:40. Victim also gave detailed information about Defendant's personal identifiers (Id. at 0:40), the warrants and probation (Id. at 0:48, 1:16), the danger he might pose (Id. at 2:00, 10:53), how he recently snorted meth (Id. at 5:18), how he sells meth (Id.), the direction in which he headed and his known hangouts (Id. at 2:43, 7:40), and his past suicide threats (Id. at 11:16).

B. 911 dispatch to police

Another dispatcher relayed the information Victim provided to responding officers. Resp. in Opp'n at 4, ECF No. 22; see generally Gov't Ex. 1C, 911 Dispatch Audio¹. Because dispatch relayed information in real time, officers quickly responded to the information to locate Defendant. Gov't Ex. 1C, 911 Dispatch Audio. The dispatcher described Defendant's personal information (name, date of birth, phone number, and social security number), his physical appearance (race, skin tone, and tattoo description) and attire (gray Champion shirt, camouflage pants, and camouflage bucket hat), and the fact that he has six warrants. Id. at 10. Officers confirmed Defendant's two capias warrants prior to arresting Defendant. Id. The dispatcher then provided information on the vehicle (2013 red Nissan Rogue, license plate number, and registered to Victim) and stated that Defendant had drugs, specifically heroin, and guns not registered to him in the car. Id. The dispatcher further informed officers of the direction that Defendant was moving toward. Id.

C. Defendant's arrest

At approximately 12:28 pm, the first officer was dispatched pursuant to Victim's call. Mot. to Suppress at 2, ECF No. 21. Hampton Police Division officers located the vehicle in the parking lot of an AutoZone store in Hampton, Virginia. Id. The officers set up in the area. Resp. in Opp'n at 4, ECF No. 22. Officer Jansson emphasized that they should intercept Defendant in his vehicle outside the business to avoid the possibility that Defendant would retreat with a weapon back into a business filled with other customers. Id. (citing Gov't Ex. 1A, 911 Dispatch Record at 9, ECF No. 23; Gov't Ex. 1C, 911 Dispatch Audio). Multiple officers waited in the AutoZone parking lot for Defendant to leave the store. Mot. to Suppress at 2, ECF No. 21.

A little after 1:00 pm, Defendant Jackson exited the store, opened the car door, and sat in the driver's seat. Id. Officers Hipple, Lopez, Vanden Berg, and Jansson intercepted Defendant after he entered his vehicle but before he closed the door. Resp. in Opp'n at 4, ECF No. 22; Def. Ex. 2, Jansson BWC at 13:08:00-13:08:30, ECF No. 21-2. The officers asked Defendant to show his hands, drop his keys, and step out of the vehicle. Mot. to Suppress at 3, ECF No. 21. Defendant complied with officers' commands. Id. As Officers Hipple and Vanden Berg handcuffed Defendant, Officer Jansson stated to Defendant, "Hey man, you got a warrant. You got some paperwork on file. OK?" Id. (citing Def. Ex. 2, Jansson BWC at 13:08:03). Defendant replied, "Alright," and remained compliant. Id. (citing Def. Ex. 2, Jansson BWC at 13:08:05).

After Defendant exited the driver's seat, the grip and magazine of one firearm—a Ruger semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine loaded with 18 rounds of ammunition—became visible. Resp. in Opp'n at 4-5, ECF No. 22 (citing Def. Ex. 3, Vanden Berg BWC at 13:08:09, 13:08:46, ECF No. 21-3²; Gov't Ex. 3, Ruger and Magazine Photo, ECF No. 22-1³). Defendant's frame had previously concealed the weapon when he was sitting in the vehicle. Id. at 5. Further, the firearm had stickers that Defendant had affixed to it. Id.

D. Search of Defendant's person

At approximately 1:08 pm, Officer Hipple walked Defendant Jackson to the patrol car of the primary case officer, Officer Aning, to begin processing his arrest on the capias warrants. Id. at 5-6 (citing Gov't Ex. 2, Aning BWC at 13:08:35⁴). The patrol car was approximately two parking spots away from the passenger area of Defendant's car (an estimated 20-25 feet away). Mot. to Suppress at 3 (citing Def. Ex. 1, Cruz BWC at 13:08:32, ECF No. 21-1). While Defendant was handcuffed behind his back in Officer Hipple's physical custody, Officer Aning searched Defendant's person incident to arrest. Gov't Ex. 2, Aning BWC at 13:08:43-13:10:15. Officer Cruz also arrived on the scene after Defendant was already handcuffed and assisted with the search. Def. Ex. 1, Cruz BWC at 13:08:20-13:10:20. This search occurred in parallel to the vehicle search and at a distance. Id.; Resp. in Opp'n at 6, ECF No. 22. The two searches of Defendant and Defendant's vehicle occurred in a different manner, with different bases and goals. Resp. in Opp'n at 6, ECF No. 22. During the search of Defendant's person, Officer Aning recovered a late-model iPhone and slightly under half an ounce of suspected marijuana from Defendant's right pocket and a heavy gold chain around his neck. Id. (citing Gov't Ex. 2, Aning BWC at 13:09:13 (iPhone), 13:09:18 (marijuana), 13:09:47 (gold chain)).

At approximately 1:17 pm, Officer Jansson confirmed that Defendant is a convicted felon. Def. Ex. 2, Jansson BWC at 13:17:20-13:17:35. Officer Jansson relayed to Officer Aning that Defendant had 2 capias warrants and should be charged (based on the separate search of the vehicle) with gun by felon, concealed weapon, and possession of firearm while in possession of a Schedule I drug (cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana). Id. at 13:32:43-13:34:18.

E. Search of Defendant's vehicle

At approximately 1:08 pm, Officer Jansson issued an order to Officers Vanden Berg and Lopez, stating, "We saw him in the vehicle, search incident to...