Opinion ID: 539884
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Suppression of Statements by Laskowski

Text: 27 Laskowski contends the district court erred by denying his motion to suppress statements he made after an allegedly illegal arrest. On November 19, 1985, DEA agents, after observing a brief meeting between Laskowski and Petersen in a restaurant parking lot, arrested Laskowski. At that time, Laskowski told the agents that he had just paid Petersen for cocaine. Laskowski also told the agents that he had been buying half kilograms of cocaine from Petersen. Before trial, Laskowski moved to suppress his statements because they were the fruit of an illegal arrest. According to Laskowski, the agents had no probable cause to arrest him. After an evidentiary hearing, at which the agents testified, the district court denied the motion. 28 In reviewing a district court's decision on a motion to suppress evidence, we take the district court's factual findings as true unless they are clearly erroneous. However, we review de novo the district court's finding that probable cause existed. United States v. Lima, 819 F.2d 687, 688 (7th Cir.1987). The district court found that on November 19 the DEA was investigating Petersen, whom agents knew to be a drug dealer. DEA agents Robert Fanter and Dale Knittel were conducting surveillance of Petersen at a restaurant in a Chicago suburb as part of that investigation. The agents saw Petersen receive two telephone calls inside the restaurant and make two calls. They also saw Petersen receive a message on his electronic pager and then make a third phone call. Shortly after that, Laskowski arrived at the restaurant in a gold Nissan 300ZX sports car. Petersen left the restaurant carrying a yellow tote bag and got into the passenger side of Laskowski's car. Fanter saw Petersen pass the tote bag to Laskowski, and saw Laskowski pass the bag back to Petersen. Petersen then exited Laskowski's car about 30 seconds after he had entered it, got into his own car, and drove away. 29 Knittel, on Fanter's instruction, followed the Nissan. Laskowski was driving rather fast, and Knittel was having trouble keeping up. Knittel activated his siren and rotating lights and, after driving about three more blocks (during which time Knittel had to run stop signs to keep up) pulled Laskowski over. Laskowski got out of the car and Knittel patted him down. Fanter then arrived at the scene and read Laskowski his rights, and Laskowski admitted his cocaine purchases to the agents. 30 Both Laskowski and the government characterize his stop and detention as an arrest, so we will also. Laskowski contends that the agents had no probable cause to arrest him. We disagree. Knittel and Fanter had seen Petersen make and receive several phone calls and receive a beeper page. The agents knew that Petersen was a drug dealer; that was why they were watching him. The agents saw Petersen meet with Laskowski for about 30 seconds. During this brief meeting, Petersen and Laskowski passed a yellow tote bag back and forth. It is ludicrous to suggest that these facts were not sufficient for Fanter and Knittel to make a practical, common sense decision that a fair probability existed that some kind of a drug deal had just taken place between Petersen and Laskowski. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). Fanter and Knittel thus had probable cause to arrest Laskowski. 31 Laskowski also quibbles about certain of the district court's factual findings. None of these challenges has any merit. Laskowski complains particularly about the court's finding that Fanter saw Petersen and Laskowski pass the yellow tote bag back and forth. According to Laskowski, it was inherently improbable that Fanter could have observed what went on in the Nissan because Fanter was one-quarter to one-half block from the Nissan when he saw Petersen and Laskowski meet. We take it that Laskowski means that Fanter's testimony was inherently unbelievable in the sense that it was impossible for him to have seen what he said he saw. It was not. There is nothing about Fanter's testimony that contradicts the laws of nature or any other unquestionably true evidence, or that confounds logic. See United States v. Dunigan, 884 F.2d 1010, 1013 (7th Cir.1989); United States v. Muskovsky, 863 F.2d 1319, 1323-24 (7th Cir.1988). It was not unreasonable to believe Fanter, especially given that he was a trained DEA agent, observing what he suspected to be a drug deal. It is likely in that situation that Fanter would have been more observant and concentrating harder than the average person, and thus be able to see things the average person might not. The district court properly denied Laskowski's motion to suppress.