Opinion ID: 2654019
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Events of July 28, 2005

Text: 1. Procurement of a Warrant To Search the Basement Apartment at 103 Lake Drive, Wyandanch, New York At 8:45 P.M. on July 28, 2005, Suffolk County Police Detective Richard Sneider applied for and obtained a warrant to search the basement apartment at 103 Lake Drive in Wyandanch, New York (“103 Lake Drive” or “the subject premises”) for a chrome .380 handgun. Probable cause for the search was provided by a known, reliable informant who, in a sworn statement attached to the warrant application, avowed that, days earlier, while at the subject premises purchasing six grams of crack cocaine from “Polo,” he had seen a chrome .380 caliber handgun along with drugs on a kitchen counter. The informant reported that he had also seen the gun on other occasions over the preceding two months, during which time he had made seven or eight drug purchases from “Polo” either at the subject premises or at “Polo’s” prior residence in Bay Shore, New 5 York. The informant described “Polo” as a dark skinned, heavyset, black male with short hair. 2. Police Stop of Bailey
In anticipation of executing the search warrant at the subject premises, police conducted surveillance outside 103 Lake Drive. At 9:56 p.m., Detective Sneider and his partner, Detective Richard Gorbecki, observed two black males— later identified as Bryant Middleton and defendant Bailey—exiting that location through a gate at the top of stairs leading up from the rear, basement level of the building. Each man was approximately six‐feet tall, with a stocky build and short hair. Rather than immediately approach the men—and risk revealing police presence to any persons inside the subject premises, thereby affording them an opportunity to arm themselves or destroy evidence before the authorized search—the detectives watched the men enter a black Lexus parked in the driveway and leave the scene. In an unmarked car, the detectives followed the Lexus for approximately one mile before pulling it over into the parking lot 6 of a fire station in order to “identify” the two men “and to see what their purpose was for being at the residence.” Suppression Hr’g Tr. 16:25–17:1, App. 90.1 The detectives asked both men to step out of the car and proceeded to pat them down to determine if they were armed. Feeling hard objects in Bailey’s front and back pockets, Sneider removed the items to ensure that they were not weapons. The objects were, in fact, a wallet and a set of keys, including keys for the stopped Lexus. The wallet was returned to Bailey; the set of keys was placed on the lid of the car trunk. The detectives then asked the men their names and from where they were coming. The car’s driver identified himself as Chunon Bailey and stated that he was coming from “my house.” Id. 56:22–23, App. 122. Asked the location of his house, Bailey replied, “103 Lake Drive.” Id. 56:25, App. 122. In response to a request for identification, Bailey produced a driver’s license from his wallet bearing a Bay Shore address. Sneider knew that the informant had said that “Polo” had dealt drugs from his Bay Shore home before moving to 103 Lake Drive. 1 It is undisputed that the officers did not pull the vehicle over based on probable cause to think the driver had committed any traffic infraction. 7 Meanwhile, Middleton identified himself to Detective Gorbecki and stated that Bailey lived at 103 Lake Drive and was driving Middleton home so that he would be in compliance with a 10:00 p.m. curfew condition of his parole.
At that point, the detectives handcuffed Bailey and Middleton. When Bailey asked why he was being arrested, the detectives told the men that they were not being arrested but were being detained, and that a search warrant was then being executed at 103 Lake Drive. To that, Bailey stated, “I don’t live there. Anything you find there ain’t mine, and I’m not cooperating with your investigation.” Bailey III, 133 S. Ct. at 1036.2 All four men then returned to 103 Lake Drive: Bailey and Middleton, both handcuffed, in a summoned patrol car; Gorbecki driving the Lexus; and Sneider driving the unmarked police car. Upon their arrival, officers at the scene advised that a gun and drugs had been found in plain view in the basement apartment. Police then formally arrested Bailey and Middleton. 2 This statement has been reported with slight (though not material) differences at various points in the record. For consistency with prior opinions, we reference the statement as testified to by Detective Gorbecki at the suppression hearing. See Bailey III, 133 S. Ct. at 1036; Bailey II, 652 F.3d at 201. 8 In total, less than ten minutes elapsed between the time officers first pulled over the Lexus and detained its occupants and the arrest. Sometime after Bailey and Middleton were arrested, Detective Sneider confirmed that one of the keys retrieved from Bailey’s pocket opened locks to the subject premises.