Opinion ID: 4170878
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Firearm Case

Text: In May 2015, a confidential informant approached Shawn Hallett, a Special Agent with the Texas Department of Safety (“DPS”). The informant gave Wallace’s phone number to Hallett and informed him that Wallace was a gang member and a wanted fugitive living in Austin. When Hallett verified this information, he discovered an outstanding arrest warrant. He then passed this information to DPS’s gang unit in Austin. DPS Agent Jose Rodriguez (with the help of an assistant district attorney) then sought a Ping Order for authorization under both federal and state law to (among other things) obtain the “locations of cell site towers being accessed by” the cellular device linked to the number given by the confidential informant. This information is referred to as “E911” or prospective cell site data. A state district court judge granted the requested Ping Order for a period of sixty days going forward. As a result, DPS discovered that Wallace’s phone had been turned off. Hallett reached out to his confidential informant and received a new telephone number for Wallace within a few days. Rodriguez then applied for 2 Case: 16-40701 Document: 00514002187 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/22/2017 Nos. 16-40701 & 16-40702 and was granted a second Ping Order for this new cell phone number. With this Ping Order, DPS obtained the approximate, real-time GPS location of Wallace’s cell phone from AT&T. Using this information, Hallett located Wallace near a pond on private property off U.S. Highway 87 north of Victoria, Texas. Officers arrested Wallace, discovering a Winchester Super X .22 magnum caliber round of ammunition in his pocket, a black Bersa Thunder .380 semi-automatic pistol at the edge of the pond, and a box of ammunition for that pistol along with an empty holster in Wallace’s truck. Wallace was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Once charged, Wallace moved to suppress the evidence obtained during the execution of the arrest warrant, including the pistol, ammunition, and relevant testimony. He argued that the Ping Order used to locate him was invalid because “1) the information provided to the State District Judge was ambiguous, overbroad and conclusory and 2) law enforcement was not engaged in an ‘ongoing criminal investigation’ of the Defendant.” He also argued that the statutes authorizing the Ping Order were unconstitutional. The district court denied Wallace’s motion, finding that suppression was not a cognizable statutory remedy under Fifth Circuit precedent. The district court also upheld the statutes as constitutional. Wallace timely appealed. 1