Opinion ID: 2811841
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Official Investigation

Text: The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and a Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) task force had been conducting an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking of the Haitian MOB, an organization that traffics illegal narcotics from Miami, Florida, to Fort Myers, Florida. Various investigative techniques were used by the agents and officers conducting the investigation, including confidential informants and cell-site-location technology to trace the cellular telephones of members of the drug-trafficking operation. On December 7, 2010, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement applied to a Lee County circuit judge and received authorization for cell-site activation 3 Case: 13-10471 Date Filed: 06/25/2015 Page: 4 of 37 locations for cellular telephone number 239-222-5448 (“target telephone”), with service provided by Sprint. The authorized tracking of the target telephone, believed to be used by Sereme, included installation of a pen-register device with enhanced caller identification and a trap-and-trace device for the cellular telephone number. The authorization also required Sprint to provide the longitude and latitude (GPS) location at the request of the investigating agencies. Law enforcement monitored and tracked the movement of the target telephone for twelve days after receiving the court order allowing them to do so in accordance with Fla. Stat. § 934.32. On December 8, 2010, an investigating agent received cell-cite locations for the target telephone. On December 9, 2010, surveillance was conducted on the Linda Loma area of Fort Myers, because the information indicated Sereme was in that area. Surveillance also showed a red Ford Edge, rented by Marie Pierre of Miami, Florida, was located at 16860 Carmen Avenue. On December 10, 2010, an FBI agent contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and advised the target telephone had been at a specified Walmart in Fort Myers. The Walmart surveillance video showed Sereme getting into a red Ford Edge that appeared to be the vehicle previously identified in the Linda Loma subdivision. Contact with the car-rental agency revealed Marie Pierre had returned the red Ford Edge and thereafter rented a silver Ford Edge. 4 Case: 13-10471 Date Filed: 06/25/2015 Page: 5 of 37