United States v. Robinson

1

United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Deandre Lashawn Robinson, Defendant.

No. 21-cr-219 (ECT/DTS)

United States District Court, D. Minnesota

February 3, 2023

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

DAVID T. SCHULTZ U.S. Magistrate Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Defendant Deandre Lashawn Robinson moves to suppress evidence obtained from the search of his Mercedes SUV, as well as the search and seizure of a Toyota rental car, rented in someone else's name. He also challenges the validity of a Cell-Site Location Information (CSLI) warrant, which helped officers locate him in April 2022. Furthermore, he challenges un-Mirandized statements made to officers in April 2022. For the reasons set forth below, the Court recommends his motions [Dkt. Nos. 30, 31, 66, 67, 68, 80] be denied.

FINDINGS OF FACT

I August 2021: Mercedes Search and Defendant Questioning

On August 3, 2021, Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) placed a GPS tracker on Robinson's Mercedes SUV pursuant to a warrant. Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 44:8-23; 47; 1-5; Dkt. No 87.^[1] Approximately three days earlier, a Confidential Reliable Informant (CRI) informed MPD they believed Robinson was in possession of a firearm and was selling narcotics including Fentanyl out of his car. Id. at 45:1-9. According to the CRI, Robinson kept both drugs and firearms in his car. Id. at 52:8-22. The CRI provided MPD with details about Robinson, including his legal name, where he lived, the type of car he drove (the Mercedes), and the temporary license plate number on that car. Id. at 47:7-25. The CRI also told MPD that they and Robinson had an ongoing social relationship. Id. at 50:5-13. MPD corroborated that information, tracking Robinson's Mercedes around the Twin Cities and witnessing hand-to-hand transactions, believed to be the sale of narcotics. Id. at 48:619.

On August 11, 2021, MPD followed Robinson's Mercedes from Forest Lake to Brookyln Park. Id. at 51:17-2. Robinson parked the car on a residential street and MPD approached the car and arrested Robinson pursuant to a warrant issued in Wisconsin. Id. at 52; Gov. Ex. 2. Robinson was removed from the car, handcuffed, and placed in the back of a police squad car. Gov. Ex. 1^[2] at 11:08:50-11:10-25. The passenger in his car was also detained. Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 76-77. Officer Kristopher Dauble noticed white powder under Robinson's nose and smelled marijuana. Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 54:1-5. When removing Robinson from the car, Dauble exclaimed “Hey, what's on your nose?” Gov. Ex. 1 at 11:09:05. After Robinson and the passenger were removed from the Mercedes, officers began searching the vehicle. Gov. Ex. 1 at 11:10:48. Officers found a firearm hidden behind a plastic panel in the backseat of the car. Gov. Ex. 1 at 11:12:52; Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 103:1-7. The panel itself was behind the folding armrest located in the backrest of the rear passenger seat—essentially hidden inside the backrest of the backseat. Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 103:1-7. Law enforcement also located drugs hidden behind a panel in the trunk of the Mercedes. Id. at 103:15-18. Robinson claims this search was unlawful for lacking a warrant and failing to meet any of the delineated exceptions to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. Def. Mem. in Support of Suppression Mots. (Def. Mem.) at 13-17; Dkt. No. 94. In connection with that argument, he argues the CRI's information was stale by the time of the search. Id. at 16.

As officers were getting ready to leave the scene and transport Robinson to jail, he exclaimed that he had just swallowed a handful of drugs and needed to go to the hospital. Gov Ex. 1 at 11:42:44. Officers removed Robinson from the squad car and, believing the pills may have been Fentanyl, administered Narcan an opioid antagonist that “rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.” Naloxone DrugFacts, National Inst. on Drug Abuse (January 2022);^[3] Gov. Ex. at 11:46:19. Paramedics arrived and began caring for Robinson, eventually transporting him to the hospital. Id. at 11:51:03-12:00:24. While en route to the hospital, Robinson stated his eyesight was blurry. Id. at 12:02:32. Later, he was able to identify and monitor colors on a screen while conferring with one of the paramedics. Id. at 12:08:55-12:09:38. He seemed aware of what the paramedics were doing, objecting to their inserting an IV in his arm. Id. at 12:08:08. He confirmed he was born in 1992, though he also had trouble remembering his whole date of birth. Id. at 12:07:50; 12:12:25, 12:13:40. He appeared to laugh intermittently. E.g. id. at 12:17:20. He also seemed disoriented, asking where he was. Id. At 12:24:40.

Later that day, Officer Dauble spoke with Robinson at the hospital. Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 59:11-16; Gov. Exs. 3, 4. The timing of this conversation is somewhat unclear. Dauble reported that he encountered Robinson at HCMC about 30-45 minutes after concluding at the scene of Robinson's arrest. Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 59:6-12; Dkt. No. 87. He also stated it was about an hour after Robinson was arrested. Id. at 59:12-18. Robinson was arrested at 11:09 in the morning. Gov. Ex. 1 at 11:08:58-11:10:00. He was then transported from the scene to HCMC from 12:00pm until approximately 12:30pm. Id. at 12:00:00-12:30:25. Because Robinson was in an ambulance an hour after his arrest, the Court assumes Dauble meant he encountered Robinson an hour after either he, Dauble, left the scene or after Robinson left via ambulance. Because the Court does not know exactly when Dauble left the scene, the timing remains muddled.

At HCMC Officer Dauble read Robinson his Miranda rights. Gov. Ex. 3 at 4:034:30. Upon hearing that any statements he made would be used against him, Robinson exclaimed “Oh, you going to use it against me for sure.” Id. at 4:09-4:11. When asked if he knew “all those rights” and wanted to talk with Officer Dauble, he replied “Yeah, yeah we can talk about it, yeah.” Id. 4:30. Officer Dauble then proceeded to question Robinson, asking him about the drugs and firearm found in the Mercedes. Id. at 4:40-5:20. Robinson argues all statements made during this conversation should be suppressed because his Miranda waiver was not knowing and intelligent as required under the law. At bottom, he argues that because he had taken Fentanyl only an hour or so earlier, he was under the influence of drugs and his waiver was invalid. Def. Mem. at 17-19; Dkt. No. 94.

II. April 2022: Toyota Seizure & Search and Defendant Questioning

Months later, MPD applied for and received a warrant for Cell-Site Location Information (CSLI) connected to Robinson's cell phone hoping to locate him to execute various warrants for his arrest. Gov. Ex. 7. CSLI or “ping” information allows law enforcement to track an individual—each time their cell phone connects to a cell tower a record of the connection is recorded. Location information from these pings is precise enough to place a person within a single city block. Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 26: 13-18; Dkt. No. 88. Using that CSLI, MPD learned Robinson was likely inside Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). Id. at 26:19-21. MPD officers learned from Hennepin County deputies that Robinson was in the emergency department and located him there. Id. at 27:1-9.

After finding Robinson, MPD arrested him. Id. at 28:13; Gov. Ex. 5 at 12:54:28. During a search incident to arrest, police found a key to a Toyota, which Robinson stated belonged to his friend Tony. Gov. Ex. 5 at 12:55:30. He also asked the police to call Tony several times. E.g. id. at 12:57:13; 12:57:45. Robinson told police that Tony had driven him to the hospital. Id. at 12:57:50. Officers then located the Toyota, which was legally parked, and towed it to the City of Minneapolis impound lot. Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 30-33; Dkt. No. 88.

While officers were locating and towing the Toyota, Officer Dauble and others stayed with Robinson in the hospital and spoke about various topics, including Robinson's drug use. Gov. Exs, 5, 6. Later that afternoon, Tony arrived at Robinson's hospital bay and asked for the Toyota keys. Gov. Ex. 6. at 14:41:39-14:42:40. Robinson and Tony discussed the car and questioned how law enforcement could seize Tony's car. Id. at 14:44-14:47. Robinson repeated the car did not belong to him. Id. 14:44:20. He also stated he had never driven the car. Gov. Ex. 6 at 14:46:41. Tony later told defense counsel he had given Robinson the keys to the rental car so Robinson could smoke cigarettes in the car. Def. Ex. 6. About an hour later, Robinson ingested pills believed to be Fentanyl that he had secreted on his person. Gov. Ex. 6 at 15:29:28. Hospital staff monitored him for potential overdose. Id. at 15:31:30.

A few days after Robinson's arrest at HCMC, Officer Dauble went to the impound lot to view the Toyota. Tr. of Mot. Hrg. at 64:14-65:10. Looking into the car through the windows, Dauble observed marijuana seeds and stems, as well as aluminum foil which he suspected was used to smoke drugs. Id. at 64:17-23. A narcotics-trained canine sniffed around the perimeter of the car the following day and alerted Dauble to drugs in the car. Id. at 65:9-17; Gov Ex. 8 at 8. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives applied for and obtained a warrant to search the Toyota. Id. at 39:23-40:7; Gov. Ex. 8. Robinson challenges the search and seizure of the Toyota, arguing the police lacked probable cause to seize and impound the Toyota, and that the subsequent search of the car was thus tainted as fruit of the poisonous tree. Def. Mem. at 24-35; Dkt. No.94. The Government argues, among other things, that Robinson had no legitimate expectation of privacy in the Toyota and has no standing to challenge its seizure or search. Gov. Response to Def. Pretrial Mots. to Suppress Evidence (Gov. Mem.) at 2124; Dkt. No. 98.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

I ...