United States District Court, D. Utah
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;
...