Opinion ID: 1390563
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Admission of Ross's Confession Was Proper

Text: Ross argues that his confession was coerced and should have been suppressed. In reviewing a district court's decision on a motion to suppress, we review factual findings for clear error and legal conclusions de novo. United States v. Burks, 490 F.3d 563, 565 (7th Cir.2007). At the outset, Ross attacks the court's factual findings, arguing that the court clearly erred in crediting the postal inspectors' accounts. This is an uphill climb, because we give special deference to the district court, who heard testimony and observed witnesses, on factual matters. See United States v. Johnson, 383 F.3d 538, 542 (7th Cir.2004). We will reverse only if we are left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made, as when a court has credited exceedingly improbable testimony. Burks, 490 F.3d at 565. We begin by reviewing the testimony. Inspector Donnelly was the first to testify at the suppression hearing. He testified that he performed two functions during the search of Ross's home. He carried an MP5 submachine gun and, once the apartment was secured, assisted in the search. According to Donnelly, approximately seven armed officers proceeded to Ross's door at about 6:20 a.m. on January 12, 2004. After knocking and announcing that they had a warrant to search Ross's home, the inspectors used a sledgehammer to gain entry into Ross's home. The door swung open revealing Ross standing inside the dark apartment in boxer shorts and a tank top. Donnelly said he then pointed the submachine gun at Ross and instructed him to exit the apartment and lie down on the hallway floor. Donnelly denied slamming Ross against the wall or even touching Ross during this encounter. After Ross complied with Donnelly's instructions, the other inspectors rushed into the apartment to verify that no one else was inside. Donnelly says that during that brief interval he stayed outside with his gun pointed at Ross and always kept a distance of five feet from the suspect. Once the inspectors cleared the apartment, an inspector handcuffed Ross and performed a pat-down. Inspectors Rocamora and Carrier then escorted Ross to the living room and Donnelly proceeded to the bedroom to assist in the search. Inspectors found fourteen .25-caliber bullets and seventeen .22-caliber bullets in Ross's bedroom. Donnelly remembered seeing Ross again when he tossed a pair of Ross's pants out of the bedroom for Ross to wear. He thought that was probably the only other time he saw Ross in the apartment. Inspector Rocamora, the supervising agent during the search, also testified at the hearing. Although Rocamora was excluded from the courtroom while Donnelly testified, the inspectors' testimony interlocked to a substantial degree. Rocamora testified that inspectors announced themselves at Ross's home at 6:25 or 6:30 a.m. After Ross exited the home, Rocamora said the apartment was checked for confederates and Ross was allowed back into the home. Rocamora stated that he removed Ross's handcuffs and read Ross his Miranda warnings before beginning the interview. Consistent with Donnelly's testimony, Rocamora testified that Ross was allowed to get dressed before the interview and that one of the inspectors showed Ross the search warrant. Rocamora recalled that Ross's interview began twenty-five to thirty minutes after entry into the apartment. According to Rocamora, Ross initially denied any involvement in the robbery, but within ten to fifteen minutes, he admitted to committing robbery with individuals named Ricky and Derek. Rocamora testified that no one placed a gun to Ross's head during the interview or even yelled or swore at him. Rocamora said Ross was given cigarettes, coffee, and chips during the five-hour interview. At the close of the interview, Ross agreed to cooperate in the apprehension of the third conspirator by wearing a wire. Ross told a very different story. According to Ross, the inspectors knocked at his door between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m., outside the time authorized in the warrant. He testified that one inspector snatched him out of the apartment, slammed him against the wall, and told him to get down on his knees and to shut up. At that point, an officer put a rifle to the back of his head. Ross said he repeatedly asked to see a search warrant, that the officers never showed him a warrant, and that the officers said F it. We don't need it. Search it, anyway. Ross then said the inspectors asked him to sign a form giving consent to search and that he refused. As for the interview, Ross said he initially denied any involvement in the robbery, and only confessed when Inspector Donnelly came rushing from the bedroom saying You're gonna stopyou're gonna stopF'ing lying, and placed a gun to his head. Ross testified that Rocamora became upset with Donnelly and excluded him from the apartment. Even so, Ross said, he was so nervous that he confessed and later agreed to wear the wire only because he had already crossed the line into assisting the inspectors. The defendant called his son and a neighbor to testify at the suppression hearing. Both testified that the inspectors began the search before 5:00 a.m., but did not otherwise corroborate the defendant's account of events. Ross says several purported discrepancies in the inspectors' testimony should have led the court to credit his testimony. For one, he notes that Donnelly testified that the inspectors began conversing with Ross ten minutes after breaking down Ross's door, but Rocamora testified the interview began twenty-five to thirty minutes after entry. This does not amount to a clear inconsistency because the inspectors may have conversed with Ross before commencing a formal interview. To the extent there is an inconsistency, it can be attributed to the excitement of the circumstances and memory loss. And importantly, both inspectors agree as to what occurred during the moments leading up to the interview, even if they disagree on the precise timing of those events. Any discrepancy regarding the timing of the interview is minor and does not render the inspectors' testimony exceedingly improbable. See United States v. Jensen, 169 F.3d 1044, 1047 (7th Cir.1999) (disagreement between two officers as to when a conversation occurred did not make their testimony exceedingly improbable); United States v. Yusuff, 96 F.3d 982, 986 (7th Cir.1996) ([M]inor inconsistencies in the police testimony do not undermine their credibility in any significant fashion.). Ross exaggerates other alleged inconsistencies. For instance, he says Donnelly claimed that he did not remember who placed the handcuffs on Ross and that he did not recall seeing Ross anytime after tossing a pair of pants into the living room. Ross says these statements are exceedingly improbable because: (1) Donnelly was guarding Ross at close range at the time Ross was handcuffed, and (2) Donnelly had to have passed Ross to exit the apartment upon completion of the bedroom search. Ross's arguments are unconvincing because he misrepresents Donnelly's testimony. Donnelly testified that he was almost certain that Postal Inspector Zielke placed the handcuffs on Ross, and Donnelly testified that Ross might have been in the living room when Donnelly left the apartment. Finally, Ross claims it is equally incredible that Donnelly never touched him and remained five feet away from him during the excited, fast-paced entry. But nothing about Donnelly's account is inherently unbelievable. Rather, it is Ross's version that strains imagination. During the course of four meetings with prosecutors before trial, Ross never mentioned being threatened at gunpoint or coerced into confessing. We also think it unlikely that Ross was threatened into confessing on one day and contentedly cooperated with police on the next. The district court did not clearly err in accepting the inspectors' version of events. So Ross is left to argue that the conditions of his interview, as recounted by Inspectors Donnelly and Rocamora, were coercive. He contends that the totality of the circumstancesthe fact that there were six to seven armed postal inspectors in his apartment at the time of his confession and that he was greeted with a submachine gun minutes before the questioning beganrenders his confession involuntary. We review the district court's conclusion on this question de novo. Burks, 490 F.3d at 565. A confession is voluntary if, in the totality of the circumstances, it is the product of a rational intellect and free will and not the result of physical abuse, psychological intimidation, or deceptive interrogation tactics that have overcome the defendant's free will. United States v. Huerta, 239 F.3d 865, 871 (7th Cir.2001) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Among the factors relevant in determining whether a confession was coerced are: the defendant's age, intelligence, education, mental state; whether he was given his Miranda rights; the duration and environment of the interrogation, including the suspect's access to the restroom and food during the interrogation; and the conduct of law enforcement. Conner v. McBride, 375 F.3d 643, 651 (7th Cir.2004). Based on the totality of the circumstances, we find that Ross's confession was voluntary. Ross was over fifty years old at the time of his interrogation and had significant experience with the criminal justice system because of his prior convictions. Although several armed inspectors were moving around his apartment at the time of his confession, only two inspectors interviewed him at any given time, and he was given his Miranda warnings. Additionally, when Ross gave his confession, he was sitting in his own apartment, fully clothed, and not handcuffed, and he had been provided food and drink. The entire interview lasted five hours but Ross's confession came within ten to fifteen minutes after inspectors initiated questioning; so he cannot argue he was worn down before he confessed. This is not a circumstance where a defendant contends his will was so overborne that he confessed to a crime he did not commit. Indeed, at the suppression hearing, Ross admitted his guilt. Except for Ross's contention that Donnelly held a gun to his head, which the district court found unbelievable, there is no evidence of intimidation. The district court did not err in admitting Ross's confession.