Opinion ID: 772296
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Hotel

Text: 4 Gomes checked into the New Otani Hotel on July 1, 1998. She informed the hotel that two men, Dorais and another, would be staying in her room; completed a registration card that included Dorais' name; registered two vehicles to the room; and paid $1,400 in cash to cover the cost of the room through July 5, 1998. The hotel assigned her to room 610. 5 At some point, Gomes and Dorais decided to extend their stay. 2 Because room 610 was not available for the night of July 5, the hotel reassigned Dorais and Gomes to room 421. At first they resisted the move but, after repeated requests by the hotel, they relocated to room 421 at 2:30 p.m. on July 5. After the move, the hotel asked Dorais several times to come to the front desk to sign a new registration card, but Dorais never signed the card. 6 On July 6, 1998, Curtis Kawamoto, the evening manager, contacted acquaintances of his who worked for the Hawaii Police at the airport. Kawamoto expressed concern about suspicious actions that had been occurring in room 610. As a result, the police ran a background check on Dorais and Gomes. In response to Kawamoto's report, Officer Yamamoto contacted Glen Manaba, the assistant front-office manager and security manager of the New Otani Hotel, on the morning of July 7, 1998. The two agreed to meet to discuss Kawamoto's report. Manaba requested a background check on the guests who were now in room 421; Yamamoto informed him that he had already run a check and that Gomes was the only guest with a criminal record. Yamamoto told Manaba to call if he noticed suspicious conduct by the occupants of room 421 but did not inform the hotel manager that the guests already were the subjects of a drug investigation. 7 At some point on July 7, the hotel decided that it would not permit Gomes and Dorais to extend their stay past July 8. There is no evidence in the record that the guests requested an extension; likewise, there is no evidence in the record that the hotel informed them of its decision. On the morning of July 8, Yamamoto contacted Manaba to find out if Dorais and Gomes had checked out and to request permission to search the room after they checked out. He also told Manaba that he would be parked outside the hotel, in case the hotel required his assistance. 8 At 10 a.m. on July 8, the hotel left a message on the voicemail in room 421, reminding the guests of the noon checkout time. Gomes left the hotel before noon. Dorais remained. Shortly after noon, the executive housekeeper knocked on the door of room 421 to inquire when Dorais would be checking out. Dorais told her that he intended to stay until 12:30. Thehousekeeper told Dorais OK and said that she would tell the front desk. She could not remember whether she reported to the front desk Dorais' intent to stay until 12:30. 9 Around noon, Manaba spoke with the Hawaii Police officers, who entered the hotel to inquire whether the occupants of room 421 had checked out yet. Manaba informed them that the guests remained in the room, and he told the officers that he wished to evict them if they stayed past checkout time. One of the officers contacted his supervisor to arrange for permission to proceed with the investigation of the room and to assist the hotel in the eviction. At about 12:40, Manaba and six officers went to room 421 to evict Dorais. Manaba knocked on the door and told Dorais that he was there to evict him. When Dorais opened the door, one of the officers identified himself and told Dorais that the police would assist in the eviction. The police entered the room and saw a substance on the coffee table that resembled methamphetamine. At that point, the police arrested Dorais and conducted a pat-down search incident to arrest. The search yielded a baggie containing a substance resembling crystal methamphetamine. The police then obtained a search warrant to search the closed boxes and envelopes that they found in the room and on Dorais.