United States v. Slater

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. SHAQUILE O. SLATER, Defendant.

No. 21-CR-106-PP-SCD

United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin

October 21, 2021

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS

STEPHEN C. DRIES, United States Magistrate Judge

The police, having been tipped off by a neighbor, suspected that Shaquile Slater was selling drugs from the Brown Deer residence he shared with family. After several months of investigation, Slater's probation agent issued an apprehension request for Slater to be taken into custody for suspected violations of the terms of his probation. About twenty law enforcement officers, including some armed with long guns, executed the apprehension request at Slater's residence a few weeks later. After arresting Slater and removing the other occupants from the home, the police conducted a probationary search of Slater's bedroom and found drugs and evidence of drug trafficking. The police then obtained permission from Slater's stepfather, the owner of the residence, to search the rest of the home. Inside the bedroom of Slater's adult sister, the police found two firearms, more drugs, and additional indicia of drug activity, all of which apparently belonged to Slater. Slater was subsequently indicted in federal court on drug-trafficking and firearms charges based on the evidence found during those searches.

Slater has moved to suppress all evidence seized from his residence arguing that the police violated the Fourth Amendment when they searched his house without a warrant. Because the police reasonably suspected that Slater had committed a crime or violated a condition of probation, under Wisconsin state law the police could search Slater's bedroom without a warrant, and they did so in a reasonable manner. Moreover because Slater has failed to demonstrate that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his adult sister's bedroom, he cannot challenge the search that led to the seizure of evidence from that room. I will therefore recommend that Slater's motion be denied in toto.

BACKGROUND

The parties largely agree on the relevant facts, and neither has requested an evidentiary hearing. Thus, I take these facts from the parties' briefs, see ECF No. 24 at 1-12; ECF No. 28 at 1-8, and Slater's exhibits (available in hard copy). Apparently, these facts come from the discovery materials in this case, with one minor exception.

I Investigation of Apparent Drug Activity at 8304 North 48th Street

In May 2020, a concerned citizen-let's call him “C.S ” as in “confidential source”- contacted the Brown Deer Police Department about suspected drug trafficking at a neighbor's residence: 8304 North 48th Street in Brown Deer, Wisconsin. C.S. told the police that a lot of vehicles visited the residence throughout the day and that the subjects in the vehicles entered the residence briefly before leaving a short time later. C.S. also told the police that sometimes when a vehicle arrived, a young, black male would exit the residence, enter the parked vehicle briefly, and then return to the residence. Other times, C.S. observed a subject arrive at the residence, exit his vehicle carrying a black garbage bag, enter the residence briefly, and then return to his vehicle carrying a blue pillowcase.

Based on the information provided by C.S., the police began investigating possible drug activity at the 48th Street residence. Timothy Benway, a Brown Deer police officer, learned that Shaquile Slater lived at that residence and that Slater was on probation for dealing marijuana. Slater's rules of supervision prohibited him from (among other things) engaging in violations of any law, possessing firearms or ammunition, possessing illegal drugs, and traveling outside of Wisconsin without approval. The rules also required Slater to make himself available for searches of his residence and personal property under his control.

Officer Benway located a Facebook profile for “Shaquile Slater.” The individual depicted in that profile matched Slater's correctional photo, as well as an individual frequently seen on photos and videos captured by C.S. The profile contained photos of a man who appeared to be Slater holding large stacks of cash, including one where Slater posed on the hood of a gray Audi that appeared parked in the driveway of the 48th Street residence:

(Image Omitted)

ECF No. 28 at 2. The profile also contained multiple posts referencing the sale of “ZaZa, ”

(Image Omitted)

which Officer Benway knew from his training and experience to be a street name for marijuana. Id.

Between May and August 2020, C.S. continued to provide information to the police, including video footage and photographs of suspected drug activity at the 48th Street residence. A video from May 28 depicts a man in a red shirt and red shorts exit the residence and exchange what appears to be a bag of marijuana for cash with the driver of a vehicle parked in front of the residence. Officer Benway shared the video with Jada Miller (Slater's probation agent), who confirmed that the man in the red outfit was Slater. A video from July 4 depicts a man believed to be Slater exit the residence and hand something to the driver of a vehicle parked in front of the house. A video from July 17 depicts a man who matches Slater's physical description exit the residence carrying what appears to be a long rifle, get into a vehicle parked outside the residence, and then return to the house after spending about twenty minutes inside the vehicle. Videos from August 6 and August 24 depict Slater interacting with a vehicle outside the residence, but according to Slater they do not show any transaction or exchange.

The police also conducted their own surveillance of the 48th Street residence. An officer reported that, on June 25, 2020, he observed a group of individuals arrive at the residence, approach the home, and then enter for a short while before leaving. The officer also reported observing Slater and one of the individuals exchange money for a bag containing a white powdery substance, though Slater claims surveillance photos of that encounter do not support the officer's observations.

Five times between June and August 2020, the police searched the trash left at the curb of the 48th Street residence. During one search on July 10, the police found the cover to a digital scale, a broken cell phone, and several plastic baggies with corners tied. The police, however, did not locate any suspected contraband during the other searches.

C.S. also provided the police with a list of license plate numbers and descriptions of vehicles observed at the 48th Street residence. The police learned that some of those vehicles were registered to owners who had prior criminal drug history. However, discovery does not reveal any record of the police attempting to stop any of those vehicles leaving the residence. Likewise, discovery does not reveal any controlled buys from Slater or any attempts to track his whereabouts or monitor his phone activity. II. Traffic Incident and Apprehension Request

At 1:57 a.m. on August 25, 2020, Illinois police attempted to stop a gray Audi that was driving northbound toward Wisconsin at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. After the driver of the Audi did not pull over, the state trooper initially started to pursue it, but he stopped because the Audi was traveling too fast. Approximately thirty minutes later, Wisconsin police observed a gray Audi enter the state driving at a high rate of speech. The Wisconsin state trooper was able to catch the license plate number on the Audi, which he discovered was registered to Sheila King at the 48th Street residence. It appears the Wisconsin state trooper shared this information with Illinois police, who asked for assistance from the Brown Deer Police Department. At approximately 3:15 a.m., Brown Deer police officers went to the 48th Street residence to talk to King, who is Slater's mother. King told the police that Slater had left the residence in her gray Audi at about 9:00 p.m. and that he hadn't returned home. Officers confirmed that the Audi was not in the garage and then left.

The following day, Officer Benway told Slater's probation agent about the incident involving the Audi. Officer Benway explained that Slater had fled from Illinois police in his mother's gray Audi.^[1] He further explained that King had told officers that Slater had left the residence in the Audi hours before the vehicle was observed speeding and fleeing the police in Illinois. Officer Benway followed up with Miller the next day. He told Miller that the Illinois police had surveillance footage of the Audi, but they were not able to identify the driver due to the vehicle's high rate of speed and dark window tint.

On September 1, 2020, Miller issued an apprehension request for law enforcement to take Slater into custody. The apprehension request was based on several alleged violations of Slater's probation. First, Miller was aware that since May 2020 the police had been investigating Slater for possible drug trafficking at his residence. Second, Miller knew that Slater had been arrested and cited in Illinois for aggravated speeding and driving with a suspended license on July 28, 2020, at approximately 2:04 a.m. Third, Miller considered the incident involving the Audi on August 25, which also was a suspected violation of Slater's travel restrictions. After Miller issued the apprehension request, Slater missed his scheduled contacts with her on September 2 and September 8, 2020.

III. Execution of the Apprehension Request

On September 15, 2020, an investigate team went to the 48th Street residence to execute the apprehension request and arrest Slater. Prior to their arrival, Officer Benway...