Opinion ID: 808741
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: FBI Investigation

Text: After receiving Corporal Ford’s report, Agent Morefield began his own investigation. In determining whether there was probable cause for Borneisen’s arrest, Agent Morefield “carefully reviewed the written statement that Ms. Wilson gave to the Chesterfield Police as part of the totality of the circumstances surrounding the threatening phone call from Mr. Borneisen.” Agent Morefield “found no reason to doubt Ms. Wilson’s veracity in the statement given to the police, nor did [he] find any grounds to suspect that she intended to give a false report to law enforcement regarding Mr. Borneisen.” Agent Morefield specifically noted that there was no evidence of a pre-existing relationship between Wilson and Borneisen and that “private citizens rarely make a random criminal report against a stranger, or give sworn statements to law enforcement against a stranger without facts.” Furthermore, Agent Morefield noted that Wilson did not report the call directly to law enforcement and did not complete a police report. She reported the matter to her supervisor as workrelated, and her only interaction with law enforcement was her responding to questions by Corporal Ford. Additionally, “it did not appear that Ms. Wilson 6 Case: 11-15337 Date Filed: 09/18/2012 Page: 7 of 19 stood to gain anything by reporting the telephone call to her supervisor at Capital One.” Accordingly, Agent Morefield considered the statements provided to the Chesterfield Police Department as a “good-citizen report,” a term of art used by law enforcement to describe “reliable reports of information provided to law enforcement made by a private citizen regarding possible criminal activity.” As part of his investigation, Agent Morefield also reviewed Larry Borneisen’s criminal history, which spanned three decades between 1976 and 2004. Borneisen’s criminal history included, inter alia, several misdemeanor assault convictions, a charge for felony breaking and entering, and two charges for aggravated assault with a firearm. Agent Morefield “considered Mr. Borneisen’s history of arrests for violent crimes, continuing over several decades, to contribute to a finding of probable cause for his arrest on suspicion of making a bomb threat to Capital One.” During his investigation, Agent Morefield’s only communication with Capital One was a telephone call to determine whether Borneisen’s threatening phone call was recorded. Capital One confirmed that the phone call was not recorded. Agent Morefield averred that Capital One “had no other input into [his] investigation” and “did not request that [he] seek Mr. Borneisen’s arrest or take any other action of any kind.” 7 Case: 11-15337 Date Filed: 09/18/2012 Page: 8 of 19