Opinion ID: 2598598
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Suppression of Evidence Seized Pursuant to Search Warrant

Text: [¶ 6] Prior to trial, Mr. Urbigkit filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized pursuant to the search warrants issued on February 6, 2001, contending the affidavits supporting the warrant requests were insufficient to establish probable cause because the information contained in them came from an unreliable sourceMr. Logan. Mr. Urbigkit contended Mr. Logan was unreliable because, while acting as a confidential informant after his arrest, he provided false information to law enforcement concerning where Mr. Urbigkit would most likely be found for purposes of carrying out a controlled buy. Specifically, Mr. Logan allowed law enforcement to believe Mr. Urbigkit was staying at his own apartment when he knew Mr. Urbigkit was at the apartment of his girlfriend, Johanna Winder. He also provided misinformation concerning Ms. Winder, including telling law enforcement that she was a former girlfriend, he had not spoken to her for months, he did not have a telephone number for Mr. Urbigkit's current girlfriend, and he had been in an apartment on Honeysuckle Street with Mr. Urbigkit where he bought an ounce of methamphetamine but did not know whose apartment it was. When law enforcement discovered a recently called number on Mr. Logan's cellular telephone was that of Mr. Urbigkit's girlfriend and confronted Mr. Logan, he admitted lying concerning the telephone number, the apartment, and how to contact Mr. Urbigkit. Mr. Logan was terminated as an informant. [¶ 7] The gist of Mr. Urbigkit's argument in his motion to suppress was that the only information law enforcement had of illegal activity on his part came from Mr. Logan, who had proven himself to be unreliable, and such unreliable information was insufficient to establish probable cause for purposes of obtaining search warrants. Mr. Urbigkit further argued law enforcement failed to adequately investigate Mr. Logan's assertions to obtain corroborating evidence of illegal activity on the part of Mr. Urbigkit. [¶ 8] The trial court denied the motion to suppress, holding the search warrants were valid and a reasonably cautious or prudent person would believe from the affidavits that a crime was being or had been committed justifying issuance of the warrants. With respect to the claim that there was insufficient corroboration of Mr. Logan's statements, the trial court stated: There was corroboration of Mr. Urbigkit's existence. There was corroboration of his contact with the Grandview and Honeysuckle residences and with the shop on Foster Road. There was corroboration of his possession of the two vehicles, the gold-colored car and the blue Chevy pickup. There was indication from Mr. Logan that [Mr. Urbigkit] had firearms, and this was corroborated by his previous violent history. And those two seem to be consistent to me. There was corroboration of the association with persons who had a history of drug use, which corroborates the saleor the statement that he sold drugs. [¶ 9] We review the denial of a motion to suppress under an abuse of discretion standard, which means the core of our inquiry focuses upon the reasonableness of the trial court's decision. Vaughn v. State, 962 P.2d 149, 151 (Wyo.1998). Traditionally, we have applied a de novo review when considering the sufficiency of an affidavit to support the issuance of a search warrant under Article 1, Section 4 of the Wyoming Constitution. Cordova v. State, 2001 WY 96, ¶ 10, 33 P.3d 142, ¶ 10 (Wyo.2001). We also have cited federal authority stating that the issuing magistrate's determination of probable cause should be given great deference. Id. at ¶ 11, 33 P.3d 142. This deference places the burden of establishing a constitutional violation by a preponderance of the evidence on the party claiming his rights were violated. Id. However, we have said such deference is not to be employed to blindly sustain the actions of the magistrate or to place any reviewing court in a position that it may refuse to examine the factual basis for such issuance. To refuse or to fail to do so could result in serious erosion of one of our most valuable constitutional rights, and unless there is factual basis for determination of probable cause this court would be evading its responsibility by failing to declare this to be the case. Id. (quoting Smith v. State, 557 P.2d 130, 133 (Wyo.1976)). [¶ 10] Judicial officers issuing search warrants must have a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause exists. Id. at ¶ 12. [T]hey must make a two-fold finding to justify the issuance of a search warrant. First, the factual situation must be sufficient to warrant a reasonably cautious or prudent man to believe that a crime was being committed or that one had been committed. Second, there must be a showing that the fruits of the crime or the evidence thereof are in the area or structure sought to be searched. Id. [¶ 11] In the context of an affidavit containing hearsay from informants, sufficient facts must be presented such that the judicial issuing officer can make an independent judgment as to the informant's credibility, veracity, reliability, and basis of knowledge in determining probable cause exists. Id. at ¶ 10. For a judge to issue a search warrant, the affidavit of probable cause must contain sufficient information for an independent determination of the reliability of the statements made therein, which shall include sufficient identification of the source of the information. Hixson v. State, 2001 WY 99, ¶ 12, 33 P.3d 154, ¶ 12 (Wyo.2001). The affidavit presented to support the issuance of a search warrant is presumed to be valid. It is the affidavit that articulates the facts to supply probable cause, and it must include more than bare conclusions from the affiant. It must demonstrate corroboration of information from a confidential informant and contain verifiable facts. Lee v. State, 2 P.3d 517, 523 (Wyo.2000) (citations omitted). [¶ 12] Applying these standards, we conclude the search warrants in this case properly issued. Law enforcement submitted three identical affidavits in support of the requests for issuance of warrants to search Mr. Urbigkit's apartment and shop and his girlfriend's apartment. The affidavits contained thirty-two paragraphs. The first paragraph set out the investigating agent's qualifications and experience. The second through the tenth paragraphs described Mr. Urbigkit's criminal history, including a prior conviction for aggravated assault with a weapon, an arrest for possession of a concealed weapon, a prior conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and two prior convictions for aggravated assault and battery causing injury. The eleventh through the twenty-eighth paragraphs stated: On January 25, 2001, your affiant was conducting a drug investigation. Your affiant made contact with John Logan. Logan was found to be in possession of an ounce of methamphetamine. Logan told your affiant that this methamphetamine came from Samuel T. Urbigkit. Logan explained that he has bought methamphetamine from Urbigkit on at least three [o]cc[a]sions. Each time, Urbigkit sold Logan an ounce of methamphetamine for twelve hundred dollars ($1,200). Logan explained to your affiant that Logan has bought drugs at Urbigkit's apartment, Urbigkit's shop, and Urbigkit has brought the drugs over to Logan's house. Furthermore, Logan told your affiant substantially the following. He considered Urbigkit a very dangerous person, who was very cautious to avoid police detection. Urbigkit was normally armed, at all times with a firearm. He saw an assault style rifle, which he thought Urbigkit called an AK-47. He saw this gun in Urbigkit's apartment on Grandview Place. He saw this gun around Christmas of 2000. Urbigkit told him that this gun was full auto. He saw several guns at both Urbigkit's shop and apartment. Logan described seeing: a Glock handgun, a stub nosed .22 revolver, a 9 mm handgun. Urbigkit had also made several statements about using the guns on people. He saw that Urbigkit kept one or more handguns, on his person, usually in the pocket of a coat. On January 25, 2001, while at Urbigkit's shop (980 Foster RD), he saw a rifle leaning up against the wall, and a .22 caliber revolver, which was lying on the desk of the shop. The shop was located by the new jail, and across from the bus garage. On this property were two buildings. Urbigkit's shop was located on the South, West corner of the South building. Logan also stated that in January of 2001, when he had bought other ounces of methamphetamine from Urbigkit, he saw Urbigkit in possession of the above described handguns. He saw these guns at Urbigkit's apartment. Urbigkit lived in an apartment on Grandview Place, Casper, Wyoming. He drove a gold car and a blue pick up. His shop was behind the Natrona County School bus garage, by the jail. Following this interview, your affiant and Agent Wnuk drove to the area where it was believed Urbigkit had a shop. Agents confirmed Logan's information, in that there were two business type buildings located across from the school bus garage. Your affiant noticed that at ... 980 Foster Rd, (one of the business rental units), there was a blue Chevy pick up, with Wyoming plates, 1-374BP. Your affiant checked the registration of this pick up, and found that it was registered to Amuel Urbigkit (possibly a typographical error for Samuel) on a blue 1986 Chevy Pickup, at 2261 W. 41 St., Casper, WY. Your affiant checked CPD computer records, and found that 2261 W. 41 St[.], is the home of Urbigkit's parents. On January 26, 2001, at the direction of your affiant, Logan came to the DCI office and an unsuccessful recorded phone call was made to Urbigkit. (There was no answer). Logan told your affiant substantially the following. Urbigkit had a girlfriend. This girlfriend had a first name of Johna or something similar. Logan described her as a white female, about 5'4, [c]urly blonde hair, in her thirties, good looking, lived somewhere in Paradise Valley, and drove a silver car, possibly a Mazda. Agent Wnuk and your affiant checked the records of the Casper Police Department and found that Urbigkit had an address at 2405 Grandview Place, # 35. CPD records also indicated that in December of 2000, Urbigkit was involved in an argument with two females, Teddi and Jeni Grace. CPD officers were dispatched to 2405 Grandview Place #35, where they spoke with Jeni Grace and Sam Urbigkit. On February 1, 2001, Logan again came to the Casper DCI office. Your affiant asked Logan if he knew any way of getting a hold of Urbigkit. Logan stated that he did not. Your affiant assisted Logan in making another recorded phone call to Urbigkit's apartment on Grandview. Again, there was no answer. Your affiant then placed a recording device on Logan and had him go to Urbigkit's apartment, 2405 Grandview Place #35. Prior to leaving the DCI parking lot, your affiant searched both Logan and his pick up for drugs or weapons. Your affiant found a red Nokia cell phone in Logan's pick up. No drugs or weapons were found. Logan went to Urbigkit's apartment and knocked on the door. No one answered. Logan then returned to the DCI office. Your affiant wrote down the numbers stored in the phone book, as well as the numbers in the call log in the Nokia cell phone. Your affiant noted one of the entries as Sam-Girl with the number 234-5719. Your affiant also noted that this number was logged as number that had been dialed by this phone. Your affiant then asked Logan about the name and number. Logan stated that the number was Sam's old girlfriend, Lisa Costalez. Logan then stated that he had not spoken to Costalez for several months. Your affiant then asked Logan again, if he knew any way to get a hold of Urbigkit, or his girlfriend Johna. Logan said that he thought that Johna had a cell phone, but that he did not have the number. Logan also told your affiant that he had seen Urbigkit at an apartment on Honeysuckle, by the Mini-Mart in Paradise Valley. Logan said that he had been to ... this apartment, and drew a map of the apartment building for agents. The apartment that Urbigkit was in, was located on the second floor, on the West side, of the building. He said that he had been in this apartment with Urbigkit, and had bought an ounce of methamphetamine. He told agents that he was not sure whose apartment it was. Your affiant then met with his supervisor, Tim Hill and explained the above situation. Hill called U.S. West and received information on the phone number 234-5719 (the number in the red cell phone for Sam-Girl). The number came back to Johanna Holbrook, 272 Honeysuckle, Casper, Wyoming. Your affiant then confronted Logan with the above information. Logan told your affiant substantially the following. He had lied to your affiant. This number did belong to Urbigkit's girlfriend, and he had called her earlier that day. She had told him that Urbigkit would not be back until after 4:00 p.m. The reason he had not given this information earlier was that he was scared. He had also been dishonest by not telling agents earlier that Urbigkit could have been at this apartment on Honeysuckle. Based on the above false information, Logan was terminated as a DCI informant. Logan was booked into the Natrona County Jail for the drugs he possessed on January 25, 2001. On February 1, 2001, at about 6:30 p.m., your affiant drove to 272 Honeysuckle. Your affiant noted that this building is an apartment building, yellow and brick. It is located on the West side of the street and has a parking lot on the East side. Your affiant noted that there was a gold colored Ford sedan in this driveway with the license plate 1-340DW (registered to Urbigkit). On February 5, 2001, your affiant again drove by 272 Honeysuckle. Again, your affiant noticed that the gold colored Ford was there, as well as a small silver colored car, with Wyoming license plate, 1-757DF. Your affiant found this car registered to Johanna Winder, 1617 Westridge Court, on a silver 1988 Mazda. On February 5, 2001, through investigation your affiant learned the following. There was no one listed in the Casper Police Department records, as Johanna Holbrook. Johanna Winder was listed in the CPD records. She had a contact with officers that was drug related in 1997. Winder was listed in CPD records as being a white, 22 year old female, 5'4, 120, blonde hair and blue eyes. On February 5, 2001, at about 1:20 p.m., your affiant contacted Kevin Whitman, with Probation and Parole. Whitman confirmed that Urbigkit was on parole. Whitman told your affiant that he had not had any problems with Urbigkit. He added that Urbigkit had passed all his urine analysis tests. Whitman had not done any home searches of Urbigkit however. On February 5, 2001, at about 1:30 p.m., your affiant did further investigation to attempt to confirm information provided by Logan. Your affiant attempted to contact Teddi Grace, but was unable to. Your affiant then called the number listed for Jeni Grace. A woman answered the phone who identified herself to your affiant as Lindee Szewczyk. She told your affiant the following. Her husband used to be married to Jeni Grace. Approximately 2 months ago, Jeni's sister Teddi called her. Teddi told her that Jeni was using a lot of methamphetamine, and was very strung out. Furthermore, Jeni was living with some bad people and it would not be prudent to take Jeni's 8 year old son there. She understood that the name of the man who Jeni lived with was Sam. Your affiant has confirmed the following information provided to him by Logan. The person, Samuel T. Urbigkit (12/26/62) does exist. Urbigkit lives at an apartment on Grandview. Urbigkit is associated with a girl named Johanna Winder, who seems to be living at 272 Honeysuckle. Johanna Winder has a history of drug use. Urbigkit is on parole. Urbigkit has a propensity towards possessing firearms. Urbigkit has behaved in a violent, dangerous manner. Urbigkit has a gold colored car and a blue [C]hevy pick up. This pick up was parked at 980 Foster Rd, which is indeed a business rental unit, consistent with being a shop. [¶ 13] From these affidavits submitted by a trained and experienced law enforcement officer, the issuing judge learned that, upon being arrested with methamphetamine in his possession, Mr. Logan admitted, against his penal interest, purchasing methamphetamine from Mr. Urbigkit. He further admitted purchasing methamphetamine from the same supplier on at least two other occasions. He provided details based upon firsthand observation concerning the quantity purchased and the amount paid on each occasion. He identified the location of Mr. Urbigkit's apartment and shop where the buys occurred and identified the individual building in which Mr. Urbigkit's shop was located. He also identified the vehicles owned by Mr. Urbigkit. He very specifically identified the various firearms in Mr. Urbigkit's possession and described the locations where he had seen them. Mr. Logan also gave a detailed description of Mr. Urbigkit's girlfriend and her vehicle and ultimately identified the location of her apartment where Mr. Urbigkit could be found. [¶ 14] The law enforcement officer corroborated much of the information provided by Mr. Logan, including the location of the buildings where he met with Mr. Urbigkit, saw the weapons, and purchased methamphetamine. The officer also corroborated the location, make, and model of the vehicles owned by Mr. Urbigkit and the information concerning Mr. Urbigkit's girlfriend. Additionally, the law enforcement official confirmed Mr. Urbigkit's association with people involved with controlled substances. He also checked Mr. Urbigkit's criminal history, which revealed a prior arrest for reckless endangering and possession of a concealed firearm by a convicted felon, two prior convictions for aggravated assault and battery causing injuries, and a prior conviction for aggravated assault with a weapon. Viewing the documents in their totality and giving deference to the judicial issuing officer, we conclude the affidavits were adequate to support a finding of probable cause sufficient for the issuance of the warrants. [¶ 15] Responding specifically to the contention that probable cause did not exist because Mr. Logan was not reliable, we have said an informant's description of criminal activity along with firsthand knowledge of the events entitles his information to carry greater weight than it might otherwise. Cordova, 2001 WY 96, ¶ 24, 33 P.3d 142. Moreover, an admission against penal interest carries its own indicia of credibility. Id. The affidavits in this case reflected that, in following up on the information provided by Mr. Logan, the investigating agent was able to confirm many of the details he provided. It is true he did not verify every piece of information Mr. Logan supplied, but he is not required to go to those lengths. Lee, 2 P.3d at 523-24. Given the specific details furnished by Mr. Logan, his firsthand knowledge and statement against his penal interests, and the verification that the agent did accomplish, we hold there was ample probable cause to issue the warrants. See Lee for a similar result. We find this to be true even though Mr. Logan at one point provided false information to law enforcement. When confronted by the investigating agent, Mr. Logan admitted the information was false and provided new information which law enforcement proceeded to verify. Under these circumstances, we are satisfied the information provided was reasonably trustworthy.