Opinion ID: 223154
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Detective Soubasis’s Testimony

Text: Detective Dean Soubasis testified that he had worked at the Pembroke Pines Police Department for eighteen years, thirteen as a detective. At approximately 9:14 a.m. on August 25, 2009, Detective Soubasis was patrolling a residential area between Pembroke Road and Pines Boulevard in Broward County “because of a 4 rash of residential and car burglaries . . . in that specific area.” He was in an unmarked patrol car. Detective Soubasis saw a Volkswagen parked suspiciously on a sidewalk near a corner residence. Looking into the car, Soubasis noticed that the passenger was wearing black clothing from the chest up and was putting on black gloves. Soubasis checked the car’s license plate, “TAZRULE,” to determine whether the car’s occupants lived in the area or if they might be planning to burglarize an area residence. Soubasis became more suspicious because he did not see any cars in the corner residence’s driveway, but he did see one in the carport. As Soubasis passed the Volkswagen and started to make a U-turn, the Volkswagen pulled out of its parked spot and drove southwest on 71st Avenue. Soubasis stopped the Volkswagen for illegally parking on the sidewalk. Soubasis also wanted to investigate why the passenger in the car was putting on black gloves and the possibility that the car’s occupants were “loitering and prowling in the area.” As Detective Soubasis began to follow the Volkswagen to pull it over, he observed the Volkswagen turn right from 71st Avenue onto Pembroke Road without stopping at the stop sign posted at the corner. Soubasis later testified that there were seven-tenths of a mile between the house on 71st Avenue and the traffic stop location, one-half of one mile between the house and the Pembroke Road 5 Sunoco (the final pick-up station), and two-tenths of a mile between the Pembroke Road Sunoco and the traffic stop location. Soubasis stopped the Volkswagen at 9:16 a.m. Soubasis exited his car and asked both occupants of the Volkswagen to put their hands up. Initially, both occupants complied, but as Soubasis approached the back of the Volkswagen, the passenger put his hands down and leaned forward. Soubasis yelled twice for the passenger to put his hands back up; the passenger complied. Soubasis testified that Wainwright was the driver of the Volkswagen and made a courtroom identification of him; Smith was the passenger. Detective Soubasis smelled marijuana from within the car. He noticed that passenger Smith had taken his gloves off and was shaking uncontrollably and sweating. Soubasis asked for Wainwright’s driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance, but Wainwright had only his driver’s license and explained that the car belonged to his roommate. When Soubasis asked Smith and Wainwright what they were doing, Wainwright answered that they were on the way to meet their boss at a Sunoco gas station and that their boss had a paint job for them. Soubasis then advised Wainwright of his Miranda rights because Soubasis intended to ask Wainwright about (1) Wainwright’s presence “in an area where they had 39 to 42 burglaries in a very short period of time”; (2) why Smith 6 had taken his gloves off; and (3) the smell of marijuana in the car. Wainwright agreed to waive his Miranda rights and make a statement. In response to Soubasis’s questioning, Wainwright stated that he did not have any drugs or weapons on his person and that Soubasis “could go ahead and check him.” Soubasis then searched Wainwright, finding about one and one-half grams of marijuana and a package of rolling papers—Wainwright said that he forgot he had the marijuana. When questioned about why he and Smith had been on 71st Avenue (which is near Pembroke) that morning, Wainwright “gave two inconsistent stories.” The first story was that Wainwright and Smith were going to meet Wainwright’s boss at a Sunoco gas station, where Wainwright’s boss would give them a paint job. Detective Soubasis testified that Wainwright was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and Soubasis did not see any paint supplies or equipment inside the Volkswagen at any time. Wainwright could not tell Soubasis where this paint job was to occur and did not tell Soubasis that the job was to take place in the Hollybrook Retirement Community. Wainwright did not give Soubasis the name or telephone number of his boss when asked to do so, nor did he give Soubasis the address of the gas station where he was to meet his boss. Soubasis gave contradictory testimony as to whether Wainwright identified Richitelli as his boss. 7 The second reason Wainwright gave for being on 71st Avenue that morning was that Smith had an ex-girlfriend in the area from whom Smith needed to retrieve belongings. When Smith and Wainwright got to her home, they noticed her car was still in the driveway. They parked and waited for her to leave so Smith could go inside and get his property. Upon further questioning, Wainwright could not describe this house, could not provide directions to the house, and could not describe the ex-girlfriend’s car. Detective Soubasis later found a gun in Wainwright’s car, which Wainwright said must belong to Smith. Soubasis placed Wainwright under arrest for loitering and prowling, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Soubasis issued a citation to Wainwright for being illegally parked on the sidewalk and for running the stop sign. Upon going to the passenger-side door of the Volkswagen, Detective Soubasis saw Smith’s black gloves between the passenger seat and the car door. Soubasis removed Smith from the car. Smith was dressed in all-black clothing. Soubasis advised Smith of his Miranda rights, and Smith agreed to make a statement. Smith initially told Detective Soubasis that he and Wainwright were on 71st Avenue because they were on their way to a paint job. Soubasis’s suspicions were raised because both Wainwright and Smith told him they were going to a paint job, 8 but neither was wearing appropriate clothing, nor did they have any painting supplies in their car. Smith then changed his story. Smith said that he and Wainwright were in the area to rob a drug dealer of $20,000, using the gun Smith had under his passenger seat.2 Smith agreed to show some of the arresting officers the location of this drug dealer’s home. As soon as the officers took Smith away from the traffic stop location, Smith asked them to stop so he could tell them the truth about the robbery he and Wainwright planned to commit against a money courier. Smith did not initially tell the officers about this plan because he did not want Wainwright to know he had revealed their plans. Smith then directed the detectives to the Sunoco gas station at 7520 Pembroke Road (the last pick-up station), telling them that this was the gas station where he and Wainwright planned to rob the money courier. Smith told the detectives that he had stayed at [co-Defendant] Richitelli’s house in Hallandale the night before. On the morning of August 25, “Smith waited for Wainwright to come and pick him up at Richitelli’s house.” According to Detective Soubasis, Smith told the officers that he and Wainwright were going to wait for a call from 2 Smith never told Soubasis that he and Wainwright were in the neighborhood to retrieve Smith’s possessions from his ex-girlfriend’s home. 9 Richitelli advising them when the courier made the second-to-last stop on the courier’s route. Once Smith and Wainwright received this phone call, they planned to proceed to the final gas station on the courier’s route (the Pembroke station), where they would wait for the courier to arrive and commit the robbery. Smith told Detective Soubasis that he and his co-conspirators had performed surveillance while planning the robbery to make sure that the courier’s route was consistent from day-to-day. Smith was able to give a physical description of the courier, including the courier’s clothing. He told Soubasis that the courier carried a gun in his car’s glove compartment and what kind of car the courier would be driving. Smith said that he, Wainwright, Richitelli, and an individual at the Sunoco station were involved in the robbery.3 Smith and Wainwright’s plan was to wait (beside the house on 71st Avenue) for Richitelli’s call. Upon receiving the call, they would proceed to the immediate area of the gas station. Then, “once the money courier pulled into the gas station, they were going to make their approach and park beside the money courier’s car.” Once the courier came out of the gas station with the money, Smith planned to 3 It is unclear from the record whether this individual worked at the Sunoco station where the co-conspirators planned to rob courier Cherico or was an employee of Twin Oil. Depending on who was testifying, this person will be described either as “the Sunoco employee” or “the Twin Oil employee.” 10 confront the courier with a gun, take the bag of money and the courier’s car keys, and drive away in the courier’s car. Then, Smith and Wainwright would meet at a predetermined location where they would take all of the money from the courier’s car, leave the courier’s car, and flee to Richitelli’s house in Hallandale, where they would divide the money. At the time of his arrest, Smith was wearing two sets of clothing, planning to throw one away after the robbery to avoid identification. Smith was putting on the black gloves because he and Wainwright had received the call from Richitelli telling them that the courier was on his way to the final stop on his route. Smith expected that the robbery would net the trio roughly $80,000, and that, as the gunman, he would receive half of the proceeds. Detective Soubasis found a .40 caliber Beretta gun (which had one bullet in its chamber and ten in its clip) wrapped in a white towel under the passenger seat in the Volkswagen. Smith told Soubasis that the gun came from Richitelli. The gun was not traced to any of the defendants, and the police lab found no fingerprints on the gun. Soubasis also found Smith’s black gloves in the car. On cross-examination, Detective Soubasis confirmed that the Volkswagen was registered to Wainwright’s home address. Soubasis clarified that Smith told the arresting officers that Richitelli and the Sunoco insider had begun planning the 11 robbery in November 2008, and that Smith and Wainwright were only brought into the plan later.