Opinion ID: 1201929
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Issues Raised by Lira-Esquivel

Text: Lira-Esquivel appeals the district court's finding that the agents had probable cause to enter his private residence, and to search and arrest him. [8] Specifically, Lira-Esquivel contends that the district court clearly erred in finding that the agents at the door of Lira-Esquivel's apartment could have seen the arm of a person on the couch based on the positioning of the door in relation to the couch. Lira-Esquivel also claims that Verdeja-Sanchez could not have understood the agents' question of whether anyone else was in the apartment, despite her statement that she understood English a little and responding no to the question. Lira-Esquivel hinges his argument on the district court's factual determinations that he asserts were clearly erroneous. Lira-Esquivel does not contest that probable cause existed to enter the apartment, and to search and arrest Lira-Esquivel under the facts determined to be true by the district court. We review this purely factual challenge for clear error only. See Parker, 469 F.3d at 1077. Lira-Esquivel's first factual challenge is whether the couch was visible from the agents' position at the doorway of the apartment. It is undisputed that the door was open wider than the pictures presented to the district court illustrated, and that the couch was certainly visible when the door was opened all the way. Based on the testimony provided at the evidentiary hearing, it was not clearly erroneous for the district court to conclude that the door was open far enough for the agents to see the couch. In other words, it was not clear error for the district court to believe the testimony of the agents. The evidence presented by Lira-Esquivel, when taken as true, may question the accuracy of the agents' statements, but it does not definitively negate them. Therefore, the district court did not clearly err in determining that the agents could have seen an arm on the couch, and that the agents then concluded that Verdeja-Sanchez had lied to them. Turning to Lira-Esquivel's second factual challenge, that Verdeja-Sanchez could not have understood the agents' questions, we again find no error. At the time the agents knocked at Lira-Esquivel's door, the agents were lawfully in the unsecured common areas of the multi-unit building. When Verdeja-Sanchez opened the door to the agents, she appeared to understand their question regarding her ability to speak English, appropriately responding a little. She also provided a coherent and appropriate  even if untruthful  response of no to the question of whether anyone else was in the apartment with her. Based on these two responses, it was not an obvious mistake for the district court to find that Verdeja-Sanchez understood the questions posed to her, and that she knew she was lying in her response to the latter inquiry. In short, the agents lawfully entered the common areas of 5352 W. Deming Place, and lawfully proceeded to knock at Lira-Esquivel's door, which was opened by his wife, Verdeja-Sanchez. While the door was partially open, and immediately after Verdeja-Sanchez had told the agents that no one else was in the apartment, the agents saw the arm of another person on a couch inside the apartment. Whether the agents believed that Verdeja-Sanchez lied because she was being held against her will by the person on the couch or because she was harboring the fugitive, Sosa-Verdeja, exigent circumstances to enter the apartment existed. Because exigent circumstances existed, the agents had probable cause to enter Lira-Esquivel's home. See Leaf v. Shelnutt, 400 F.3d 1070, 1081 (7th Cir.2005) (A warrantless search is permissible under the Fourth Amendment when police have a reasonable belief that exigent circumstances require immediate action and there is no time to secure a warrant.); United States v. Jenkins, 329 F.3d 579, 581 (7th Cir.2003) (Exigent circumstances exist when the police reasonably fear for the safety of someone inside the premises.) (internal quotations omitted). Therefore, all evidence against Lira-Esquivel was lawfully obtained and the Motion to Suppress was properly denied. 2. The Government's Surveillance of the Cell Phone (and the Effect of Sosa-Verdeja's Arrest Warrant Thereon) Lira-Esquivel asserts that the district court erred in concluding that he lacked standing to challenge the government's use of the cell site information to track Sosa-Verdeja's cell phone in his private residence. We need not review this issue in light of our determination maintaining the legality of the entry to and search of Lira-Esquivel's apartment, and his subsequent arrest. Nor do we need to address the effect of Sosa-Verdeja's arrest warrant on the right of entry for this same reason. Again, all evidence obtained was done within the bounds of the law.