Opinion ID: 3064167
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Suppression Hearing and Trial

Text: A four-count indictment charged Edwards with (1) being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e), (Count I); (2) possession with intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(D) (Count II); (3) possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(c) (Count III); and (4) carrying a firearm during commission of a drug trafficking offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (Count IV). As to Count I, the indictment charged that Edwards had three prior felony state convictions: (1) a 1994 conviction for violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act; (2) a 1996 conviction for obstruction of officers; and (3) a 2003 conviction for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Edwards filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained from the search of his car.1 Officer Andrew Griffin of the Atlanta Police Department testified at the 1 Edwards also filed a motion to suppress incriminating statements he made during his arrest. Edwards does not appeal the denial of that motion. 2 suppression hearing. At the time of Edwards’s arrest, Officer Griffin was working for the “Red Dog Unit,” whose members worked in street-level drug suppression, wore a fatigue-like uniform, and traveled in marked police cars. Officer Griffin testified that he and Officers Mark Cross and Richard Sperl were performing a walk-through of an apartment complex that was a known drug location. They observed a car parked parallel to one of the buildings and facing them that contained Edwards in the driver’s seat and a female passenger. Officer Griffin testified that Edwards appeared to be pushing something down between the two front seats as the officers approached the car. Officer Griffin saw what appeared to be a fast-food bag containing a clear plastic bag with a leafy green substance that he believed to be marijuana. Officer Griffin explained that the fastfood bag, containing the suspected bag of marijuana, was open and visible from outside the car. A drizzling rain was falling as they approached the car but Officer Griffin did not recall the presence of any fog or tint on the car’s windows. After viewing the suspected bag of marijuana from outside the vehicle, Officer Griffin signaled to Officer Cross to arrest the vehicle’s occupants. Officer Cross placed Edwards under arrest. As Edwards exited the car, he slipped out of his jacket and left it in the car. Officer Griffin thought that was unusual because it was a rainy day in January. Edwards said that the marijuana was his and that the 3 female had nothing to do with it. Officer Griffin testified that none of the officers were questioning Edwards when he said this and they had not read him his Miranda2 rights at that point. Officer Cross searched Edwards’s jacket and recovered a .380 caliber handgun, which was later determined to be stolen, and cocaine. The officers also recovered $549.00 from Edwards. The district court denied Edwards’s suppression motions based on its findings that: (1) Officer Griffin’s testimony was credible; (2) the officers’ encounter with Edwards was consensual and not a seizure because the officers merely looked into the vehicle from the outside, did not show any force or authority, and did not prevent Edwards from leaving; (3) Officer Griffin’s plain-view sighting of the bag of marijuana constituted probable cause sufficient to arrest Edwards, and the officers were authorized to search Edwards’s person and the vehicle’s passenger compartment incident to the arrest; (4) alternatively, the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement applied in this case; and (5) Edwards’s statement that the marijuana belonged to him was a volunteered statement that was not the object of interrogation. The case proceeded to a jury trial, and Officer Griffin testified at trial 2 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 458-71, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 1619-26 (1966). 4 regarding Edwards’s arrest. The jury found Edwards guilty of Count I, guilty of Counts II and III as to the lesser included charges of possessing marijuana and possessing cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844, and not guilty of Count IV.