United States v. Mayville

          MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S SECOND MOTION TO SUPPRESS

          HONORABLE JILL N. PARRISH United States District Court Judge.

         District Judge Jill N. Parrish After the court denied defendant John Elisha Mayville's first motion to suppress evidence, he filed a second motion to suppress. In his second motion, he argues that the drug and firearm evidence that officers discovered in his car should be suppressed pursuant to the Fourth Amendment, the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), and the Privileges and Immunities Clause. The court concludes that the search of Mayville's car did not violate any of these constitutional or statutory provisions. The court therefore DENIES his motion to suppress.

         FINDINGS OF FACT

         1. On May 6, 2016, Trooper Jason Tripodi stopped a red Audi for going 71 miles-per-hour in a 60 miles-per-hour zone.

         2. Trooper Tripodi approached the vehicle, made contact with Mayville, and spoke to him about his speeding. Mayville stated that he was travelling to Grand Junction, Colorado, from Lake Havasu, Arizona.

         3. Trooper Tripodi's initial contact with Mayville lasted a couple of minutes. During this initial contact, Trooper Tripodi asked for Mayville's license, registration, and proof of insurance. While Mayville searched for these documents, Trooper Tripodi observed that he “had a lot of trouble coming up with that requested paperwork.” Trooper Tripodi noted that the length of time he spent at the passenger side window was due to Mayville searching for the paperwork. Trooper Tripodi observed that Mayville seemed like he “was drowsy, or something was wrong, something was up.” Mayville “seemed confused almost” and Trooper Tripodi noticed that Mayville “wasn't able to multitask like a normal individual would be able to.” Trooper Tripodi asked Mayville on multiple occasions if he was okay, based on his interaction with him.

         4. Trooper Tripodi became concerned that Mayville may have been impaired or drowsy.

         5. Trooper Tripodi asked Mayville if he would mind coming back to his vehicle to talk to him while he filled out his paperwork. Mayville declined this invitation.

         6. Trooper Tripodi returned to his vehicle and began filling out the paperwork for the stop. He also radioed dispatch in order to run a records check on Mayville. The records check consisted of two main components. First, Trooper Tripodi requested that dispatch run his license and check for warrants. Second, he requested a criminal record check through the Interstate Identification Index, which is commonly called a triple-I check. Trooper Tripodi conducted this check through dispatch because UHP computers only provide limited information.

         7. About a minute later, Trooper Tripodi also radioed for a narcotic detector dog and handler.

         8. After radioing dispatch for records and for a narcotic detector dog, Trooper Tripodi continued filling out the citation, including “attempting to figure out whose vehicle it was because [Mayville] had no registration paperwork.” 9. Approximately four minutes later, prior to dispatch returning any records check information on either Mayville or the vehicle, Trooper Mackleprang arrived with his narcotic detector dog.

         10. Once Trooper Mackleprang arrived, Trooper Tripodi briefly informed him about what had occurred. Trooper Mackleprong then asked Mayville to exit the vehicle so that he could run his dog around the car. Mayville refused.

         11. Trooper Mackleprang observed that Mayville had delayed reactions, “almost like a blank stare, ” which caused him to suspect that Mayville was impaired.

         12. Trooper Macklprang requested Trooper Tripodi's presence. Mayville exited the vehicle, and Trooper Tripodi patted Mayville down to check for weapons. Trooper Tripodi instructed Mayville to stand on the side of the road a few feet in front of Mayvile's vehicle.

         13. The dog sniffed around the vehicle and alerted to the presence of narcotics.

         14. Shortly after the dog had alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, dispatch returned the information about Mayville and his vehicle, indicating that he had a criminal record.

         15. Trooper Mackleprang explained to Mayville that his dog had indicated to the odor of narcotics, at which point Mayville stated “there's no way, there's no way.” The troopers explained that they were going to search the vehicle and moved Mayville to Trooper Tripodi's vehicle.

         16. The troopers conducted a search and found two handguns and a homemade suppressor inside the engine area (one wrapped in a cloth bag, another vacuum sealed with the suppressor); a yellow plastic container with three packages of methamphetamine, totaling approximately one pound (453 grams) behind the carpeted wall of the trunk on the passenger side; ...