United States v. Morales, 1:18-cr-00046-YK-1

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. HENRY MORALES, JR., Defendant

No. 1:18-cr-00046-YK-1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

November 26, 2018

(Judge Kane)

MEMORANDUM

Before the Court is Defendant Henry Morales, Jr. ("Defendant")'s motion for suppression of physical evidence and statements pursuant to the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Doc. No. 55.) For the reasons stated herein, the Court will deny Defendant's motion.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 13, 2018, the Court conducted a hearing on Defendant's motion to suppress. (Doc. No. 55.) At that hearing, the Government offered the testimony of Special Agent Ryan Kovach ("Special Agent Kovach"), and Special Agent Jamie Markovchick ("Special Agent Markovchick"), of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF"), as to the events surrounding the search of a residence located at 325 Charles Road in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (the "Home") on January 18, 2018. Defendant offered the testimony of his partner, Natasha Parrish ("Ms. Parrish"); himself; and Special Agent LaToya Stewart ("Special Agent Stewart"), of the ATF.

A. Factual Background¹

1. Burglaries on the Night of January 16-17, 2018 and Initial Investigation

On the night of January 16, 2018, into the early morning hours of January 17, 2018, a gun shop in Palmyra, Pennsylvania and a pharmacy in Lebanon, Pennsylvania were burglarized. (Tr. at 20: 4-8; 44: 19-23.) Multiple firearms were taken during the burglary of the gun shop. (Id. at 6: 15-19; 33: 21-23.) As a result, police arrested two individuals, Jorge Santiago ("Santiago") and Fernando Rodriguez ("Rodriguez"), on the night of the burglaries.² (Id. at 20: 9-18.) Surveillance footage obtained by police indicated that multiple individuals wearing dark sweatshirts, hats, and gloves were present at the scenes of the burglaries. (Id. at 52: 23-25; 53: 1-2.) At the time of their arrests, Santiago and Rodriguez were wearing clothing that officers identified from the surveillance footage. (Id. at 21: 18-21.)

2. ATF Investigation on January 18, 2018

On January 18, 2018, Special Agents Stewart and Kovach were investigating the burglaries, with Special Agent Stewart acting as the lead agent for the investigation. (Id. at 23: 4-6, 12-14; 88: 8-9.) They had spoken to witnesses who identified Defendant as someone involved in the burglaries. (Id. at 22: 11-12.) Special Agent Stewart then used several searchmethods to identify an address at which to find Defendant. She first used a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation ("PennDOT") driver's license search. (Id. at 90: 18-25; 91: 1-5.) The results page of the PennDOT search listed Defendant's address as 325 Charles Road in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Id. at 88: 10-21; Doc. No. 100 at 6.) Special Agent Stewart also performed a search through Accurint, a program that examines multiple forms of public records to identify addresses associated with a specific name. (Tr. at 97: 5-25.) The Accurint search report indicated several addresses associated with Defendant, the most recent of which was 325 Charles Road in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Id. at 92: 1-3; Doc. No. 100 at 3, 7.)

At some point before 8:00 PM, Special Agents Stewart, Kovach, and O'Donnell traveled to the residence of Ronald Grover and interviewed his sister, Ronisha Grover, whose vehicle the agents believed was involved in the burglaries. (Tr. at 23: 19-25; 24: 1, 12-22.) During that interview, Ronisha Grover gave her consent to the ATF agents to search her vehicle by signing ATF Form 3220.11, a consent-to-search form. (Doc. No. 100 at 2.) By the evening of January 18, 2018, the ATF agents had a working list of which firearms taken during the gun shop burglary had been recovered and which firearms remained unaccounted for. (Tr. at 54: 2-7.) Approximately three guns, at least some of which were handguns, remained missing at that point. (Id. at 6: 15-19; 54: 2-7.)

3. 325 Charles Road in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Ms. Parrish, Defendant's partner, resides at 325 Charles Road in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Home is a single-story residence with three bedrooms, a living room area, a kitchen and dining room area, and a basement. (Id. at 8: 13-17; 9: 4-8; 15: 23-25; 16: 1-2; 71: 22-23.) Ms. Parrish's brother owns the Home and rents the Home to their mother. (Id. at 65: 17-25.) At the time of the burglaries and investigation in January 2018, Ms. Parrish's mother and two children also lived at the Home. (Id. at 71: 17-21.)

When Defendant, who was employed at a Taco Bell restaurant at the time of the search, had to work a morning shift, he would stay at the Home the night before, but he mainly lived at the homes of his mother and grandmother. (Id. at 51: 17-20; 66: 5-10; 72: 10-17.) Defendant shared a bedroom with Ms. Parrish on the nights that he stayed at the Home. (Id. at 9: 15-17.) Ms. Parrish allowed Defendant to keep a basket of clothing in the bedroom but did not permit him to have his own dresser drawer. (Id. at 73: 5-16.) As to whether Defendant could store his belongings in the bedroom, Ms. Parrish had told Defendant, "Don't get too comfortable." (Id. at 73: 5-12.) On the night of January 18, 2018, Defendant was at the Home and intended to spend the night there because he was scheduled to work the next morning. (Id. at 72: 10-21.)

4. Interview and Search at the Home on January 18, 2018

On the night of January 18, 2018, Special Agents Stewart, Kovach, Markovchick, and O'Donnell (all four collectively referred to as the "ATF Agents") arrived at the Home at approximately 8:00 PM in plain clothes, but also wearing ATF ballistic vests and carrying firearms, with the purpose of interviewing Defendant. (Id. at 6: 20-22; 45: 1-24.) The ATF Agents did not draw their firearms at any point on the night of the search, but Special Agent Markovchick had an AR-15 rifle slung on his shoulder.³ (Id. at 29: 15-21; 30: 1-3; 45: 21-24; 55: 4-7; 64: 2-6.) Special Agents Stewart and Kovach approached the front door of the Home, while Special Agents Markovchick and O'Donnell went to another door on the side of the Home. (Id. at 26: 19-24; 46: 9-11.) Special Agent Kovach knocked on the door, which Defendanteventually opened.⁴ (Id. at 6: 25; 7: 1-2.) Special Agents Stewart and Kovach identified themselves, and Defendant told them to come inside.⁵ (Id. at 7: 11-12; 46: 8-12, 25; 47: 1-3.) Special Agent Kovach motioned to Special Agents Markovchick and O'Donnell to come through the front door, and the ATF Agents then entered the Home and followed Defendant to the living room area, where he sat down on a couch without being prompted to do so by any of the ATF Agents.⁶ (Id. at 7: 14-25; 8: 1-3; 28: 13-23; 29: 3-11; 47: 5-12.)

In the living room area, the ATF Agents then told Defendant that he was a suspect in the burglaries and advised him that he was not under arrest. (Id. at 8: 5-8; 31: 21-24; 47: 17-20.) Defendant responded by denying any knowledge of or involvement in the burglaries. (Id. at 8: 8-9.) After several minutes, Ms. Parrish entered the living room area from the hallway where the bedrooms were located. (Id. at 8: 10-14; 47: 13-16; 93: 10-16.) Special Agents Stewart and Markovchick went to the kitchen and dining room area to speak with Ms. Parrish, (id. at 8: 14-17), while Special Agents Kovach and O'Donnell remained in the living room area with Defendant (id. at 8: 14-19; 47: 3-9; 94: 3-8).⁷ After Defendant continued to deny involvement in the burglaries, Special Agent Kovach asked Defendant, "[W]ell, if you're not involved, would you mind if we take a look around your house[?]"⁸ (Id. at 8: 21-24.) In response, Defendant said, "[N]o."⁹ (Id. at 9: 1.) Special Agent Kovach then told Defendant that he could walk around with the ATF Agents while they searched the Home, if he wanted to do so. (Id. at 9: 1-2.)

At that point, Defendant led Special Agents Kovach and O'Donnell around the Home, walking a step or two in front of them.¹⁰ (Id. at 9: 4; 49: 7-23.) Defendant and Special Agents Kovach and O'Donnell walked to the basement and the hallway where the bedrooms were located, and Defendant indicated which bedroom he shared with Ms. Parrish. (Id. at 9: 4-23.)Eventually, Special Agent Kovach returned with Defendant to the living room area, while Special Agent O'Donnell proceeded to search the bedroom shared by Defendant and Ms. Parrish. (Id. at 10: 7-11.) Upon returning to the living room, Defendant sat back on the couch without being prompted to do so by any of the ATF Agents. (Id. at 32: 16-24.) After Special Agent O'Donnell returned to the living room, Special Agent Markovchick also returned to the living room, and Special Agent Kovach went to the bedroom shared by Defendant and Ms. Parrish.¹¹ (Id. at 10: 9-23; 36: 2-6; 39: 16-22.) Special Agents Markovchick and O'Donnell remained with Defendant (id. at 36: 3-4; 43: 5-7), and discussed where Defendant had been on the night of the burglaries, as well as the benefits of Defendant coming forward early if he was involved with the burglaries (id. at 50: 17-25; 51: 11-20).

In the bedroom, Special Agent Kovach searched an open laundry basket of dirty clothing. (Id. at 11: 12-13; 38: 10-14) He found a dark-colored balled-up sweatshirt, which he removed from the basket. (Id. at 11: 13-17; 52: 18-20.) Inside the balled-up sweatshirt, Special Agent Kovach found a gray hat and a pair of gloves. (Id. at 11: 15-17.) In Special Agent Kovach's opinion, these items were consistent with what someone committing a burglary would wear. (Id. at 14: 20-22.) He then returned to the living room with the sweatshirt, hat, and gloves, and placed them on the floor in front of Defendant. (Id. at 14: 4-6; 51: 1-4 80: 23-25.) At that point, Defendant, who had previously appeared calm, became upset and said, "You're not taking my sweatshirt."¹² (Id. at 14: 7-10, 51: 3-5.) In response, Special Agent Kovach told Defendant thatthe ATF Agents were going to take the clothing because it constituted evidence and Defe...