Opinion ID: 3040603
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Pasadena Investigation

Text: Officer Howlett responded to the incident at the Staples parking lot. Initially, Trent, Miller, and William Daane denied that an altercation had occurred. They also denied having any 3 The terms “draw ties” and “flex ties” are used interchangeably in this opinion to refer to plastic ties found at the scene of the altercation. UNITED STATES v. DAANE 1203 of Murdock’s property. Officer Howlett asked three or four times for them to return Murdock’s telephone and keys. After being threatened with arrest for robbery, Trent and William Daane returned the items to Murdock. Miller permitted Officer Howlett to search the blue rental car. She noticed a two-way radio on the center console; a pair of gloves; a full roll of duct tape in the passenger’s seat; and plastic flex ties on the passenger floorboard. Miller admitted that he had used the two-way radio in the car “to communicate with his friends.” After Officer Howlett approached Tere Daane, who was in the white Cherokee, Tere handed the officer “some papers that had names and dollar amounts written on them.” The documents were affidavits made out to Murdock and signed by different individuals. Officer Howlett also observed a fax machine in Tere Daane’s vehicle. Officer Howlett retrieved an e-mail document from Tere Daane providing information on how to transfer one million dollars by wire. Tere Daane told Officer Howlett, “she and the group of people had invested money with [Murdock], and that he had not been paying them, and he had been avoiding them, and they had to hunt him down like a rabbit.” Officer Alaniz also searched the white Jeep Cherokee, finding a .50 caliber handgun, a smaller caliber handgun, a radio battery charger, binoculars, a glass cutter, and clothing. The smaller handgun was found inside of a backpack in a holster, “with the lettering D-A-A-N-E written on it.” When Officer Peinado arrived, he noticed an unoccupied gray Suzuki with its headlights on and engine running. He entered the Suzuki and turned the engine off. When he searched the vehicle, he found a loaded .44 magnum handgun 1204 UNITED STATES v. DAANE in a black, plastic container underneath the driver’s seat, and “a 380 caliber semiautomatic pistol” in the Suzuki’s front console. The latter firearm was in a holster inside of a plastic bag. In an interview with Officer Peinado, William Daane stated that “he had no idea” why the .380 caliber firearm was on the front console. He explained that the duct tape,4 flex ties, and gloves in the car were for hunting, and that “he forgot he left guns in the car . . . .” During an interview with Special Agent Roberts of the FBI, William Daane admitted that “he wanted to scare Les Murdock.” William Daane also stated that, during the altercation, he warned Murdock “to settle down or he would have to hurt him.” Daane denied any knowledge of how the flex ties “came to Pasadena.” William Daane gave Agent Roberts two different explanations for the presence of the firearms. He told Agent Roberts that he had packed them for an upcoming hunting trip, but had not packed any other supplies for the trip. He also told Agent Roberts “that the firearms were in his car because he had been busy and had forgotten to unpack his car because he had been shooting either the weekend, or perhaps two weekends, prior[.]” Trent informed Agent Roberts that “he was the passenger in the blue Ford Taurus . . . and he was watching Mr. Murdock’s car — trying to spot Mr. Murdock come back to the car.” Trent stated that he approached Murdock and “tried to grab the phone out of Mr. Murdock’s hand because he did not want Mr. Murdock to make a telephone call” and that he “began pulling Murdock from the car.” 4 This duct tape was not the same as the tape Stich put in the rental car. UNITED STATES v. DAANE 1205 With respect to the flex ties, Trent stated that he had seen the flex ties in the back seat of the Ford Taurus, but “didn’t know how they got there.” Trent also recounted that he moved the flex ties “from the back seat area to the front seat area so that if Mr. Murdock saw them he would not be scared.” Officer Finney searched a suitcase taken from the white Cherokee. Inside the suitcase, she found checks payable to Arn that were drawn on Murdock’s account. She also found a passport in Arn’s name and a spreadsheet listing amounts Murdock owed to numerous individuals, including appellants. The total amount listed on the spreadsheet was $1,750,330.27.