Opinion ID: 2796610
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Search of Defendant’s Vehicle and Home

Text: In February 2013, police officers with the Aventura Police Department responded to a call from a bank employee about an attempt to cash a fraudulent check. The bank employee told the officers that the person who had attempted to cash the check was one of three black males who had driven away in a dark grey SUV. Approximately one block north of the bank, police officers observed Defendant driving a vehicle matching that description, with two black males ducked down in the back seat, trying to conceal themselves. The officers initiated a traffic stop because Defendant was not wearing a seatbelt. Defendant provided the officers with a Florida ID card and what appeared to be a fake Jamaican passport. The officers ran the vehicle’s license plate and 3 Case: 14-10578 Date Filed: 04/27/2015 Page: 4 of 22 learned that the vehicle was rented. Defendant told the officers that he had borrowed the car from a friend, Gerard Reeves, and that he did not have the rental agreement. The officers arrested Defendant after a records check showed that he was driving with a suspended license. Because the vehicle was blocking traffic and because neither of the other two passengers had a valid driver’s license, the officers decided to have the vehicle towed. Prior to having the vehicle towed, the officers conducted an inventory search of the vehicle. In the floorboard of the front passenger seat, the officers found an open, black bag with paperwork hanging out of it. The officers observed hundreds of documents containing personal identification information in the bag. A later search of the bag revealed approximately 94 pages of computer screenshots printed from the Mt. Sinai computer database and 207 photocopies of checks made payable to Mt. Sinai from individual patients. During a post-arrest interview, Defendant consented to a search of the home that he shared with Reeves and one other person. The search of Defendant’s bedroom revealed additional printed screenshots from Mt. Sinai’s patient database, prepaid debit cards issued in various names, tax returns completed in various names, more copies of checks made payable to Mt. Sinai, and a notepad containing the tax return information. Additional screenshots from the Mt. Sinai patient database were also found in the desk area of the foyer. 4 Case: 14-10578 Date Filed: 04/27/2015 Page: 5 of 22