Opinion ID: 4576082
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The broken window

Text: Next, without record support, Mr. Quezada-Lara contends that the consent was involuntary because “agents br[oke the] bedroom window.” Aplt. Br. at 29. Mr. Quezada-Lara never made this argument before the district court. It is therefore waived. While Mr. Quezada-Lara pointed in his district court briefing to testimony showing that the window had a hole in it, see ROA, Vol. I at 35, he never stated who broke the window, or that the agents’ purported breaking of the window made the consent involuntary or a product of coercion, see id. 16 (d), (e), (f) Requesting Mr. Lara come to the back porch; yelling for others in the home to come outside; and lack of consent to accompany him into the kitchen None of these arguments were raised below. They are therefore waived. Regardless, Agent Acee testified that they moved Mr. Lara to the porch because they thought an exchange of gunfire with Mr. Quezada-Lara was possible, id., Vol. II at 57, and the agents were yelling to find out who else was in the home, see id. at 42. As the government points out, these actions had a “valid, non-coercive purpose,” so they do not undermine the district court’s finding of voluntariness. Warwick, 928 F.3d at 946. Moreover, there is no evidence that Mr. Lara later went into the kitchen with agents unwillingly. Agent Stemo asked him if he would go inside, and both of them went to the kitchen. ROA, Vol. II at 75. (g) Whether agents told Mr. Lara of the purpose of the search Next, Mr. Quezada-Lara argues that the consent was involuntary because agents did not tell Mr. Lara they were searching for guns and drugs. This argument was not raised before the district court, so this argument, too, is waived. In fact, Mr. Quezada-Lara argued the opposite below—that agents “indicated [at the suppression hearing] that they explained [to Mr. Lara] that they wanted to search the house for contraband.” Id., Vol. I at 36. (h) Right to refuse consent Mr. Quezada-Lara next contends that the consent was involuntary because Mr. Lara was not asked if he understood that he had a right to refuse the search. Although Mr. Quezada-Lara raised this argument before the district court, the record 17 indicates that Agent Stemo read the consent-to-search form to Mr. Lara, including its statement, “I’ve been informed of my right to deny permission to search.” Id., Vol. II at 77. After the consent-to-search form was read to Mr. Lara, he signed it. In United States v. Iribe, 11 F.3d 1553, 1557 (10th Cir. 1993), we concluded that “the evidence indicates that [the] consent was intelligently given” because the third-party “signed a consent to search form [and t]he form contained a clause discussing the right to refuse consent.” The same holds true here. See also Warwick, 928 F.3d at 945 (“A signed consent form indicates voluntary consent.”). And, in any event, “knowledge of the right to refuse consent” is not “a necessary prerequisite to demonstrating a ‘voluntary’ consent.” Bustamonte, 412 U.S. at 232–33.
Without stating the specific number of agents present at the time of the search, Mr. Quezada-Lara argues that the number of agents made the consent involuntary. Mr. Quezada-Lara raised this argument before the district court. While the presence of more than one officer increases the coerciveness of an encounter, Iribe, 11 F.3d at 1557, “that alone does not render consent per se involuntary.” Thompson, 524 F.3d at 1134. Although ten to twelve officers were present at the residence here, ROA, Vol. II at 35–36, only three officers were present with Mr. Lara when his consent was requested. Id. at 98–99; see Thompson, 524 F.3d at 1134 (concluding that consent was voluntary where “the record demonstrate[d] that when [the officer] requested permission to search . . . [the third-party] was approached by three police officers”). Regardless, the number of officers present does not “outweigh[] the numerous factors 18 indicating that [Mr. Lara] voluntarily consented to the search of the house.” Iribe, 11 F.3d at 1557.