Opinion ID: 198984
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: The Search of Merced-Morales' Residence

Text: 79 Merced-Morales alleges that the trial court should have suppressed the evidence seized from his residence and vehicle because the arresting officers (1) did not knock and announce their presence before breaking the gate padlock, (2) entered his home after arresting him outside, and (3) obtained his consent to search under duress. Appellant's arguments are without merit. 80 The trial court conducted a mid-trial suppression hearing. At that time, the following evidence was presented. Merced-Morales was arrested by a team of law enforcement officers led by DEA Special Agent German Blanco. Agent Blanco testified that his officers took extra precautions when executing the arrest warrant for Merced-Morales due to the violent nature of the organization. Specifically, the agents broke the padlock on the driveway entrance gate and entered the driveway without announcing their presence. According to Agent Blanco, he believed this was necessary (1) to reduce the risk of a surprise attack by whoever might be in the house and (2) to reduce the likelihood that anyone in the house could flee. After the officers proceeded to safer positions near the main entrance and the sides of the house, Agent Blanco began knocking on the main entrance gate and announced his presence. When Merced-Morales came down the stairs inside the house, Agent Blanco ordered him to open the gate and the wooden door behind it. 81 When Merced-Morales opened the door, the police team entered his residence and initiated a protective sweep. Contemporaneously, Agent Blanco advised Merced-Morales of his constitutional rights in Spanish, using DEA Form 13A. According to Agent Blanco's testimony, Merced-Morales stated that he understood his rights. Agent Blanco further testified that there were no guns aimed at Merced-Morales, the officers did not threaten him, and he did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Merced-Morales then verbally consented to a search of his residence, and he signed a written consent form in Spanish after both he read it and Agent Blanco read it to him. The officers then seized a revolver, drug paraphernalia, marijuana, and a list of firearms. 82 The defense presented contrary testimony. Merced-Morales' sister testified that the lock on the wooden front door was broken and there was damage to the door jamb following the arrest. She added that Merced-Morales had told her that the police entered the house by forcing open the front door. Merced-Morales testified that he was awakened by police pounding on his door. When he approached the door, police aimed a rifle at him through an open window, ordered him not to move, and then broke in through the door. Merced-Morales alleged he was then forced to sign a consent form at gunpoint and was informed that the searches would proceed even if he refused to sign. He further stated that as police officers escorted him out of the house, he saw that the doorlock and the edge of the door were broken. On cross-examination, Merced-Morales testified that he had seen a crow bar and a sledgehammer only as officers returned them to a police vehicle and that the door showed no marks from a sledgehammer. 83 After hearing all of the evidence, the district court ruled that (1) the agents lawfully broke the padlock on the driveway gate due to exigent circumstances, namely the organization's known violence, (2) agents announced their presence as soon as their safety was less compromised, and (3) Merced-Morales opened his door with no breaking or entering by police. While this Court reviews factual determinations supporting the denial of suppression motions for clear error, see United States v.Twomey, 884 F.2d 46, 51-52 (1st Cir. 1989), we review de novo whether exigent circumstances justify entry without notice, cf.United States v. Tibolt, 72 F.3d 965, 969 (1st Cir. 1995) ([W]hether a particular set of circumstances gave rise to . . . 'exigent circumstances' is reviewed de novo and findings of fact are reviewed for clear error.); United States v. Gooch, 6 F.3d 673, 679 (9th Cir. 1993) (We review de novo whether exigent circumstances justify a warrantless arrest or seizure.); United States v. Echegoyen, 799 F.2d 1271, 1277-78 (9th Cir. 1986) (The ultimate issue of whether exigent circumstances justify a warrantless entry and/or search is resolved under the de novostandard.). Where, as here, there are no explicit factual findings, the record below is assessed in the light most favorable to the trial court ruling. Tibolt, 72 F.3d at 969. 84 First, we reject Merced-Morales' argument that the search of his residence and automobile was unlawful in light of the agents' failure to knock and announce. The Supreme Court has held: 85 [F]or Fourth Amendment purposes, an arrest warrant founded on probable cause implicitly carries with it the limited authority to enter a dwelling in which the suspect lives when there is reason to believe the suspect is within. 86 Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 603 (1980); see also Steagald v.United States, 451 U.S. 204, 214 n.7, 221 (1981) (Because an arrest warrant authorizes the police to deprive a person of his liberty, it necessarily also authorizes a limited invasion of that person's privacy interest when it is necessary to arrest him in his home.). As a general rule, officers must give notice of their authority and purpose before entering private premises to make an arrest. See Wilson v. Arkansas, 514 U.S. 927, 930 (1995) (holding common law knock-and-announce principle forms part of the Fourth Amendment reasonableness inquiry). However, the so-called knock-and-announce rule is not without its exceptions. Specifically, entry without notice to execute an arrest warrant is permissible when notice would jeopardize the safety of the officers. See Kerv. California, 374 U.S. 23, 39-40 (1963) (holding Fourth Amendment not violated by failure to announce where compliance would have increased officer's peril); cf. Fletcher v. Town of Clinton, 196 F.3d 41, 49 (1st Cir. 1999) ([T]hreat to police or the public safety is sufficient to create exigent circumstances. (internal quotation omitted)). In addition, we note that the Supreme Court's standard of reasonableness [for Fourth Amendment purposes] is comparatively generous to the police in cases where potential danger, emergency conditions or other exigent circumstances are present. Roy v. Inhabitants of Lewiston, 42 F.3d 691, 695 (1st Cir. 1994). 87 Accordingly, Agent Blanco and his officers had a right to enter Merced-Morales' residence in order to execute the warrant for his arrest. See Payton, 445 U.S. at 602-03; Steagald, 451 U.S. at 214 n.7, 221. Further, the officers knocked and announced their presence once they had obtained safe positions near the main entrance and the sides of the house. If the officers had announced their presence prior to entering the driveway gate, the officers would have been exposed to any threat eManating from the house. The record contains ample evidence that the officers knew Merced-Morales was a member of a well-armed and extremely violent drug organization. Under these circumstances, we hold that the authorities' failure to knock and announce prior to breaking the padlock on the driveway entrance gate was justified by exigent circumstances. See Ker, 374 U.S. at 39-40; see also Tibolt, 72 F.3d at 969 (stating exigent circumstances include situations posing a threat to police). 88 Next, we turn to Merced-Morales' contention that the police arrested him outside of his house. This version of events is contrary to Merced-Morales' testimony before the district court that the police broke down his door. Accordingly, this argument has been waived. A litigant cannot jump from theory to theory like a bee buzzing from flower to flower. To the precise contrary, when a party fails to raise a theory at the district court level, that theory is generally regarded as forfeited and cannot be advanced on appeal. United States v. Torres, 162 F.3d 6, 11 (1st Cir. 1998); see also United States v. Slade, 980 F.2d 27, 30 (1st Cir. 1992) (It is a bedrock rule that when a party has not presented an argument to the district court, she may not unveil it in the court of appeals.). 89 Finally, we affirm the district court's finding that the search of Merced-Morales' residence and vehicle was consensual. The voluntariness of consent is a question of fact determined by the totality of the circumstances. See United States v.Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 557 (1980); Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 226, 227 (1973); United States v. Barnett, 989 F.2d 546, 554 (1st Cir. 1993). Among other factors, a district court must consider whether the consenting party was advised of his or her constitutional rights and whether permission to search was obtained by coercive means or under inherently coercive circumstances. Barnett, 989 F.2d at 555; see also Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 226; United States v. Twomey, 884 F.2d 46, 51-52 (1st Cir. 1989). Although sensitivity to the heightened possibility of coercion is appropriate when a defendant's consent is obtained during custody, see Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 240, n.29, 'custody alone has never been enough in itself to demonstrate . . . coerced . . . consent to search.' Barnett, 989 F.2d at 555 (quoting United States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411, 424 (1976)). Here, Agent Blanco's testimony contradicted Merced-Morales' allegation of being coerced and held at gunpoint. The trial court observed both witnesses and determined that Agent Blanco's testimony was more credible. Where, as here, there are two competing interpretations of the evidence, the district court's choice of one of them cannot be clearly erroneous. United States v. Cruz Jimenez, 894 F.2d 1, 7 (1st Cir. 1990); see also United States v. Zapata, 18 F.3d 971, 974 (1st Cir. 1994) (holding trial judge's denial of a suppression motion is entitled to considerable deference because he had opportunity to hear testimony, observe witness demeanor, and evaluate facts first hand). Accordingly, we conclude that appellant's arguments on this issue are without merit. 90