Opinion ID: 4158229
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Facts Recited in the Search Warrant Affidavit

Text: Trooper Shawn Boyd, a Tennessee Highway Patrol (“THP”) officer, prepared the April 23, 2012 affidavit that resulted in the issuance of the April 24, 2012 search warrant allowing officers to search the 4571 Dugger Road property.6 When he prepared the 4 Only the forfeiture of the cash is at issue in this appeal. 5 Judge Roger A. Page, who now serves as a member of this Court, dissented from the majority‟s decision to reverse the trial court‟s ruling on the motion to suppress and to reverse the defendant‟s convictions but concurred with the majority‟s forfeiture decision. 6 Trooper Boyd used this affidavit to obtain search warrants for other properties as well, but this appeal involves only the search of the property at 4571 Dugger Road. -4- affidavit, Trooper Boyd had worked as a THP officer for ten years and had been assigned to the Nashville Drug Enforcement Agency Task Force (“Nashville DEA”) for two years. The investigation culminating in the request for this warrant began after another THP officer stopped a motorist, Adrian Davis, on March 2, 2012, for a routine traffic violation. When a consensual search of Mr. Davis‟s vehicle yielded a small amount of marijuana and Lortab pills, Mr. Davis offered to provide law enforcement with information concerning a marijuana trafficking organization. The THP officer issued Mr. Davis a citation for possession of drugs, released him, and gave him Trooper Boyd‟s telephone number. Mr. Davis called Trooper Boyd the next day, and two days after that, March 5, 2012, Trooper Boyd interviewed Mr. Davis. During this interview, Mr. Davis admitted to Trooper Boyd that he had previously received marijuana from an Atlanta, Georgia based marijuana distribution organization operated by a Hispanic man named Martinez. Mr. Davis stated that the defendant‟s son, Christopher Tuttle (“Son”), known to Mr. Davis as “Red,” received large quantities of marijuana—approximately 600 to 700 pounds—from this same drug trafficking organization (“DTO”) on a weekly basis. When shown the photograph from Son‟s driver‟s license, Mr. Davis identified Son, stated that he had seen Son picking up marijuana from couriers of the DTO about a year earlier, stated that Son drove a white Nissan truck and lived in South Nashville (although Mr. Davis did not know the exact location), and, relevant to the case, stated that Son‟s “whole family [was] involved with selling drugs.” Mr. Davis also provided Trooper Boyd with his own telephone number and with two addresses at which he resided. Using this information, Nashville DEA learned that Mr. Davis‟s telephone number was connected to ongoing DEA investigations in Atlanta, Georgia, and Birmingham, Alabama, into marijuana distribution organizations. Atlanta DEA already had a wiretap on Mr. Davis‟s phone number, and, on January 14 and 15, 2012, intercepted Mr. Davis “discussing multi[-]hundred pound marijuana deals” with the target of its investigation. Birmingham DEA had tracked a suspected drug dealer, Cleto Medina, the target of its investigation, to one of the addresses Mr. Davis gave Trooper Boyd as his residence and had information, via wiretap, that another suspect, known as “The Red,” was “believed to be receiving large shipments of marijuana in Tennessee.” Birmingham DEA had received this information from Austin, Texas DEA, which was conducting a wiretap as part of an investigation it was conducting of a marijuana trafficking organization based in Texas. In March 2012, Austin DEA informed Nashville DEA of its investigation of the Mario Martinez Calderon DTO, which was receiving, transporting, and distributing kilograms of cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana from Austin, Texas to Birmingham, Alabama. Austin DEA advised that Mr. Medina had been identified as the person in Birmingham to whom the Martinez-Calderon DTO supplied drugs. -5- Furthermore, Austin DEA advised that, on March 6, 2012, one of its confidential informants made a controlled call to Mr. Medina and learned that he had a Tennessee customer known as “El Rojo,” which translates to “The Red.” Mr. Medina and the confidential informant discussed the price of cocaine and possible future deals with “El Rojo” and another Tennessee customer involving multiple kilograms of cocaine. Mr. Medina stated that “he ha[d] known „El Rojo‟ for a while and that „El Rojo‟ is very careful.” On March 16, 2012, Birmingham DEA advised Nashville DEA that Mr. Medina had received a shipment of drugs in Birmingham and that Mr. Medina‟s brother and coconspirator, Biato Jaramillo, would be transporting drugs to a customer in Tennessee that day. At approximately 5:30 a.m. that day, Birmingham DEA advised Nashville DEA that their agents were following a maroon Ford Expedition with an Alabama license tag north on Interstate 65 toward Tennessee and that the Expedition was transporting a large amount of narcotics. Nashville DEA responded by sending officers to conduct surveillance of the vehicle once it crossed into Tennessee. Birmingham DEA agents followed the vehicle until it crossed into Tennessee at approximately 7:56 a.m., at which point Nashville DEA began following the vehicle as it continued north on Interstate 65. At approximately 8:26 a.m., officers observed the Expedition take exit 37 onto Tennessee State Highway 50 and stop at a Shell gas station near the exit. The Expedition pulled next to a gas pump, and the driver went into the store, returned to the vehicle, drove the vehicle to a parking space, and stopped. About thirty minutes later, at approximately 8:58 a.m., an officer observed a white Nissan Titan truck, later identified as belonging to Son, arrive at the gas station, pull next to the gas pumps, and then leave the gas station, followed by the maroon Expedition. Officers followed the vehicles as they traveled west on Highway 50 and then turned onto Highway 373 at about 9:09 a.m. However, when the vehicles turned onto Mooresville Pike a short time later, officers were unable to maintain surveillance in the rural area without risking discovery, so “contact with the vehicles was lost for a period of time.” During this time, officers learned from searching a computer database containing real estate records that Son possibly had family in the area, because Tammy A. Tuttle was listed as the record owner of property located nearby at 4571 Dugger Road, Culleoka, Tennessee. Trooper Boyd and another officer then drove past the 4571 Dugger Road property and observed Son‟s white Nissan Titan truck parked in the driveway behind the defendant‟s mobile home. A short time later, officers observed Son‟s vehicle pull onto Highway 373, drive to Highway 50, and then pull onto Interstate 65, heading north toward Nashville. -6- Based on the foregoing, Trooper Boyd expressed his belief “that during this meeting [on March 16, 2012] BIATO JARAMILLO transferred drugs to [Son]” at the 4571 Dugger Road property. Trooper Boyd acknowledged that officers had no information implicating Tammy A. Tuttle in Son‟s drug trafficking activities, but, as Trooper Boyd recited in the affidavit, officers were aware that Son‟s father had previously resided on the property and that Son had previously hidden proceeds of an earlier drug trafficking scheme on the 4571 Dugger Road property. In particular, Trooper Boyd explained that, on December 14, 2000, a Davidson County Grand Jury had charged Son and other co-conspirators in a multi-count indictment for their involvement in a marijuana distribution organization Son operated. The charges stemmed from separate February 2000 traffic stops of Son and his wife, which resulted in the seizure of over $60,000 cash derived from drug proceeds, a July 2000 seizure of 2,600 pounds of marijuana from a rental truck that another co-conspirator intended to deliver to Son, an August 2000 seizure of 2,200 pounds of marijuana from a vehicle in Son‟s possession, and $25,000 cash Son had retrieved from another co-conspirator‟s residence to pay the driver of the loaded vehicle. As part of this investigation, a search warrant was executed on August 11, 2000, at the 4571 Dugger Road property, and officers “located a metal ammo can, which contained a plastic bag with $112,000[] in U.S. currency. The plastic bag had „$200,000‟ and the initials „CT‟ written on it.”7 Investigators suspected that the cash constituted Son‟s proceeds from drug trafficking activities, which Son had hidden at his father‟s residence. Trooper Boyd recounted that, on the morning of April 2, 2012, Birmingham DEA observed suitcases being offloaded from a bus and loaded into Mr. Medina‟s white Lincoln Navigator in Birmingham. Around noon that same day, Birmingham DEA informed Trooper Boyd of a call it had intercepted between Mr. Medina and Son, during which Mr. Medina asked if Son was ready, and Son answered in the affirmative. Mr. Medina told Son he would leave at 1:30 p.m. and would arrive around 4:30 p.m. Son agreed to this time and told Mr. Medina to call when he was near the state line. Mr. Medina and Son discussed “luggage,” with Mr. Medina saying it was just one big luggage and the amount was 170. Referring to what Trooper Boyd believed was money to pay for the drugs, Son told Mr. Medina that he did not have all of it but was very close 7 As a result of the 2000 search, the defendant was also charged with criminal offenses, and pled guilty on April 9, 2002, to conspiracy to sell over seventy pounds of marijuana and to one count of money laundering as the result of his assistance in the concealment of Son‟s drug proceeds. He received an eight-year sentence for each offense. -7- and was going to another location to find out if he could get all of it. Based on his training and experience, Trooper Boyd believed that “luggage” referred to marijuana and “170” referred to the cost of the marijuana as $170,000. Trooper Boyd interpreted the coded language in the phone call as Son and Mr. Medina “making plans in order to conduct a marijuana transaction.” At 3:30 p.m. that same day, April 2, 2012, Birmingham DEA contacted Trooper Boyd and advised that, during an intercepted call, Son had instructed Mr. Medina to take exit 32 off Interstate 65, turn left, and proceed to a Texaco gas station. Mr. Medina had repeated the instructions and agreed to call Son when he exited the Interstate. Acting on this information, Nashville DEA established surveillance of Highway 373, known as the Culleoka Highway, at exit 32 in the direction Son told Mr. Medina to travel. Officers also set up surveillance at a market located at 2345 Culleoka Highway. At approximately 4:00 p.m., officers observed the white Navigator leave Interstate 65 at exit 32 and proceed west on Highway 373, as Son had instructed. At approximately 4:07 p.m., another officer observed Son arrive at a nearby gas station in his white Nissan Titan truck and pull next to the gas pumps. Shortly after Son arrived, the Navigator, driven by a Hispanic male wearing blue jeans, a striped shirt, and a ball cap, stopped next to the gas pumps. Officers observed the Hispanic man and Son leave their vehicles and walk towards the front of the market. Both men soon returned to their vehicles and departed the gas station, with the Navigator following the Son‟s vehicle as it turned onto Mooresville Pike in the direction of Dugger Road. Because of the rural location, officers were again unable to follow the vehicles after they turned without risking discovery. However, at 4:20 p.m., Birmingham DEA Special Agent Shawn Steven advised Officer Boyd that Birmingham DEA had received “a cell phone GPS [global positioning system] location of [Mr. Medina‟s] phone and [that] it placed [Mr. Medina] on Dugger Road in Culleoka.” In his affidavit, Trooper Boyd stated that Son “was found at this same location during the surveillance that took place on March 16, 2012.” The next day, April 3, 2012, a federal magistrate judge authorized the GPS tracking of Son‟s telephone number, and GPS tracking that same day placed Son on Remuda Circle in Smyrna, Tennessee. Trooper Boyd traveled to Remuda Circle and observed Son‟s white Nissan Titan truck in the driveway. On April 4, 2012, Trooper Boyd returned to Remuda Circle at approximately 12:46 p.m., because GPS had placed Son‟s telephone there, but the white Nissan Titan truck was not at the residence. At approximately 1:30 p.m., Trooper Boyd observed the vehicle pull into the driveway and saw a white female exit the vehicle and enter the residence via the garage. Ten minutes later, Trooper Boyd saw the white female and Son exit the residence and enter the vehicle, with the female driving and Son in the passenger seat. About two hours later, the vehicle returned to Remuda Circle and backed into the -8- garage. Trooper Boyd observed Son exit from the driver‟s side and a teenage male exit from the passenger side. Both entered the residence via the garage. The next day, April 5, 2012, Trooper Boyd obtained an order from a Tennessee trial judge to intercept and monitor calls to a phone number Son used. On April 11, 2012, Trooper Boyd intercepted a call between Mr. Medina and Son, in which Son indicated that the “wood” was “157” instead of “170.” Mr. Medina assured Son that he and his boss would give Son credit for the difference, and Son indicated that he should receive credit for the difference between 157 and “170,” as well as “three” from another time. Based on his experience and training, Trooper Boyd interpreted “wood” as referring to “marijuana” and believed that Son was telling Mr. Medina he had paid for 170 pounds of marijuana but had received only 157 pounds and that Mr. Medina‟s response was assuring Son that he and his boss would credit Son for the shortages on the next delivery. Trooper Boyd stated that during this conversation with Mr. Medina—and thirty minutes before and after it—GPS tracking had placed Son‟s phone on Remuda Circle in Smyrna. Trooper Boyd believed that, when this conversation occurred, Son had “just finished weighing the marijuana received from the delivery on April 2, 2012.” Based on the above facts, Trooper Boyd stated in his affidavit his conclusion that Son was “utilizing 4571 Dugger Road, Culleoka, Tennessee to further his drug trafficking activities.” Trooper Boyd based this conclusion “specifically on intercepted calls and surveillance of [Son] that establish that [Son] utilized 4571 Dugger Road, Culleoka, Tennessee on March 16, 2012 and April 2, 2012 to receive shipments of marijuana in excess of 100 pounds from BIATO JARAMILLO AND CLETO MEDINA.” In paragraph eighteen of the fifty-two-paragraph affidavit, Trooper Boyd stated: “As further described below [Son] used this residence on March 16, 2012 and April 2, 2012 to off load shipments of marijuana in excess of 100 pounds.” However, nowhere in the affidavit did Trooper Boyd state that he, or any other law enforcement officer, had actually witnessed the offloading of drugs or Son receiving drugs at the 4571 Dugger Road property. Trooper Boyd also based his conclusion that evidence of drug trafficking would be found on the 4571 Dugger Road property on his own experience and training, gained from executing numerous search warrants in drug trafficking investigations and attending numerous training workshops and seminars, taught by both the DEA and private organizations. From this experience and training, Trooper Boyd had learned several “habits, characteristics, and practices of drug traffickers,” including, among others, the following: a. Drug traffickers very often place their assets derived from their criminal activities in names of other persons or corporate entities other than their own names, or they will use false names and identities in order to -9- avoid detection of these assets by law enforcement agencies so as to avoid forfeiture of the same. b. Drug dealers actually own and continue to use such assets derived from criminal activities and exercise dominion and control over this property, though it may be titled or recorded in the names of others. c. Drug dealers who purchase larger amounts of controlled substances must maintain and have access to large amounts of cash in order to maintain and finance their on-going narcotics business. .... e. Drug dealers very often will hide contraband, proceeds of drug sales and records of drug transactions in secure location[s] such as their own residences, locations which they control but which are titled in the names of others, residences of others who are participants in or aiders and abettors of the drug conspiracy, their businesses, and bank safe deposit boxes to conceal them from law enforcement officials. ....