Opinion ID: 3040603
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Trip To Pasadena

Text: On September 20, 2001, Stich, the Daanes, Arn, Miller, and Trent met in Trent’s hotel room. Trent stated that he did not care “if they found Mr. Murdock buried in the sand.” They discussed going to Pasadena the next day, and Trent suggested that they “should take Murdock somewhere.” Trent also mentioned, “Mr. Murdock’s a big man. I’m going to need some help with him because of his size . . .” William Daane and Miller agreed to help with Murdock, but Stich refused. Arn stated that “he had an uncle that had a hotel in the desert where Mr. Murdock could be taken.” Trent suggested that they “band-tie” Murdock’s hands, “duct tape his feet, put him in a car, and take him out to the desert.” Tere Daane also stated that she had a fax machine and wiring instructions for transferring funds to an international account. There was no discussion of firearms at this meeting. The following morning, Stich, Miller, Arn, Trent, and the Daanes prepared to go to Pasadena. When Stich was placing 1202 UNITED STATES v. DAANE his bags into William Daane’s Suzuki, he saw draw ties3 and duct tape. Stich had also purchased two pairs of gloves and duct tape. Stich rode with William Daane to Pasadena. Arn and Tere Daane were in a white Cherokee, with Miller and Trent in a blue Ford Taurus rental car. After locating Murdock’s car in a Staples parking lot, William Daane told Stich to place the ties and duct tape into Trent’s blue rental car. After Stich spotted Murdock running down the street, William Daane used a two-way radio and stated, “The rabbit’s on the run.” Tere Daane also had a two-way radio, and she repeated that “[t]he rabbit is on the run.” William Daane then moved his car to a parking lot where Tere Daane and Arn were waiting in the white Cherokee. In the parking lot, William Daane retrieved a plastic box from the Cherokee’s cargo area. William Daane returned to his car, placed the plastic box on Stich’s lap, and confirmed that it contained a gun. Afterwards, William Daane and Stich drove to the Staples parking lot. When they arrived, Stich saw Murdock get into his car. Trent ran up to Murdock’s car and held the door open. As Trent tried to pull Murdock from his car, a struggle ensued and police officers were called. Stich slid the box containing the gun underneath the driver’s seat of the Suzuki. As Stich was walking away from the incident, William Daane told him to “hide the gun,” but Stich had already placed it underneath the seat. After they were arrested, William Daane told Stich that “he was going to tell the police that the guns were for a hunting trip.”