Com. v. Byes Sanders, D.

J-S53005-14
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee :
:
v. :
:
DEVIN NATHANIEL BYES-SANDERS, :
:
Appellant : No. 1544 WDA 2013
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence August 29, 2013,
Court of Common Pleas, Erie County,
Criminal Division at No. CP-25-CR-00002258-2012
BEFORE: DONOHUE, OLSON and PLATT*, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY DONOHUE, J.: FILED AUGUST 21, 2014
Devin Nathaniel Byes-Sanders (“Byes-Sanders”) appeals from the
August 29, 2013 judgment of sentence entered by the Erie County Court of
Common Pleas. Specifically, Byes-Sanders challenges the trial court’s denial
of his motion to suppress. Upon review, we affirm.
The trial court summarized the testimony from the suppression
hearing as follows:
The Commonwealth presented the testimony of
Lieutenant Michael Nolan, City of Erie Police. Nolan
has been with the City of Erie Police for twenty (20)
years and the lieutenant in charge of the Drug and
Vice Unit for approximately ten (10) years.
On March 8, 2012, a search warrant for evidence of
drug dealing was obtained for the residence of
Ernesto Perez Jefferson and his wife, Jessica Perez,
at 829 West Tenth Street, Erie, Pennsylvania.
*Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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The search warrant on the Perez residence was
executed the same day. Approximately five ounces
of cocaine and $15,000.00 in cash were recovered
from Perez’s residence. Ernesto Perez was arrested
and transported to the police station where he
agreed to speak with Nolan and Detective Fisher.
Perez confessed to Nolan the $15,000.00
represented proceeds from drug sales. He told the
police the cocaine belonged to him and was for sale.
Perez agreed to cooperate with the police by
completing a drug deal that was to occur later that
day with his supplier. Perez told Nolan his supplier
was Jarron Jackson. Perez told Nolan a person
named ‘Dev’ was Jackson’s middleman for the
delivery of the drugs. Perez told Nolan he never met
Jackson and his only contacts with him were by
telephone. Perez told Nolan he previously met with
‘Dev’ in his capacity as the runner for Jackson.
Perez told Nolan the $15,000.00 seized from his
residence earlier in the day was to be paid to
Jackson through ‘Dev’ for a half-kilo of cocaine that
was due for delivery later that day. Nolan testified
the $15,000.00 was bundled in thousand dollar
quantities, folded over and rubber-banded, which
was typical of drug transactions involving large sums
of money.
Perez related the drug deal would include a
telephone call between Perez and Jackson to
coordinate payment and delivery of the drugs. Perez
told Nolan this was typical for drug transactions with
Jackson.
Perez described for Nolan other typical features of
drug transactions involving Jackson and ‘Dev’. The
majority of the drug transactions occurred at Perez's
residence on 10th Street. ‘Dev’ typically arrived in a
black Expedition SUV with a loud, thumping stereo.
‘Dev’ typically came to the back door of Perez’s
residence. Perez normally paid ‘Dev’ in cash.
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Perez described ‘Dev’ as a tall, thin, black male in his
twenties with dreadlocks.
Perez advised that ‘Dev’ and Jackson changed their
phone numbers every couple of weeks. Perez gave
Nolan the most recent telephone number he had for
‘Dev’.
Nolan testified Jackson was a well-known dealer of
cocaine and crack cocaine.
Nolan researched Jackson’s associates on the Erie
Police Department records management system. In
doing so, he came across [Byes-Sanders’] name as a
known associate of Jackson.
At the police station and in Nolan’s presence, Perez
received a phone call from Jackson. Perez and
Jackson discussed an imminent drug deal. Nolan
assembled a team and returned to Perez's residence
at approximately 5:30 p.m.
While Perez remained behind at the police station,
Perez had multiple phone conversations with Jackson
and ‘Dev’ concerning the drug transaction that was
to occur. Detective Fisher relayed information about
the calls to Nolan via two-way radio.
At 7:10 p.m., while Nolan was waiting at Perez’s
residence with the team of officers, a black
Expedition SUV pulled up and parked outside Perez’s
residence. Within a few seconds, Nolan received
contact from Detective Fisher that Perez had just
received either a phone call or text message from
‘Dev’ saying, ‘I'm here.’ From inside Perez’s
residence, Nolan observed [Byes-Sanders] exit the
black Expedition and walk toward the residence.
Nolan determined that [Byes-Sanders] matched the
Perez’s [sic] description of ‘Dev’. Nolan determined
[Byes-Sanders’] vehicle matched Perez’s description
of ‘Dev’s’ vehicle. [Byes-Sanders] was alone. [Byes-
Sanders] walked to the back door of Perez’s
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residence. [Byes-Sanders] knocked or rang the door
bell [sic].
Nolan waited approximately 20 seconds and opened
the door. Nolan and the two officers inside Perez’s
residence had their weapons drawn. [Byes-Sanders]
was ordered to show his hands and get down. From
the officer’s perspective, [Byes-Sanders] was under
arrest at this time. [Byes-Sanders] did not comply,
but took steps backwards. Nolan reached out and
restrained [Byes-Sanders] by the arm.
While restraining [Byes-Sanders], Nolan felt a very
hard bulge in the left sleeve of [Byes-Sanders’] coat.
Nolan placed [Byes-Sanders] on the ground and
retrieved from [Byes-Sanders’] left sleeve multiple
bags of compressed cocaine. Recovered from [Byes-
Sanders’] pocket was a large quantity of eight balls
of crack cocaine, bagged individually and contained
within a larger bag.
Perez identified [Byes-Sanders] as ‘Dev’ at the Erie
Police station after [Byes-Sanders’] arrest.
Trial Court Opinion, 10/24/13, at 2-5 (record citations and footnote
omitted).
Byes-Sanders filed a motion to suppress asserting, inter alia, that the
police obtained the evidence by virtue of an arrest made without probable
cause. The trial court held a hearing on January 7, 2013, and denied the
motion on February 28, 2013.
The case proceeded to a bench trial on June 25, 2013, and the trial
court convicted him of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a
controlled substance with intent to deliver, and possession of drug
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paraphernalia.1 On August 29, 2013, the trial court sentenced Byes-Sanders
to an aggregate term of 48 to 96 months of incarceration followed by six
months of probation.
Byes-Sanders filed a timely notice of appeal. He raises one issue for
our review:
Whether or not the lower court erred in holding that
the City of Erie vice unit had probable cause to arrest
[Byes-Sanders] on March 8, 2012 when [Byes-
Sanders] approached the residence at 829 West 10th
Street, Erie, Pennsylvania at approximately 7:10
p.m. in a black Expedition, and after knocking at the
door was greeted with three guns in his face by Erie
City Police Officers and was forcibly pulled into the
residence by Lieutenant Nolan, at which time
Lieutenant Nolan felt a hard object in [Byes-
Sanders’] coat sleeve, and removed the object
pursuant to a search of [Byes-Sanders] incident to
his arrest?
Byes-Sanders’ Brief at 3.
“Our standard of review in addressing a challenge to the denial of a
suppression motion is limited to determining whether the suppression court’s
factual findings are supported by the record and whether the legal
conclusions drawn from those facts are correct.” Commonwealth v.
Thompson, 93 A.3d 478, 484 (Pa. Super. 2014) (citation omitted). We are
not bound by the trial court’s legal conclusions, but must apply the law to
the supported facts found by the trial court. Id. The trial court’s
conclusions of law are subject to our plenary review. Id.
1
35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(16), (30), (32).
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The trial court found that the police had probable cause to arrest Byes-
Sanders for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a
felony, when he arrived at Perez Jefferson’s house. Trial Court Opinion,
10/24/13, at 6. It reached this conclusion based upon the following
testimony provided by Lieutenant Nolan:
• Perez Jefferson was a known drug dealer;
• police recovered five ounces of cocaine and $15,000 from Perez
Jefferson, which money he stated was to be used in a cocaine
purchase later that day with an intermediary known as “Dev”;
• the money was bundled in a way that Lieutenant Nolan knew to be
consistent with drug transactions; $15,000 was the appropriate cost
for the amount of drugs Perez Jefferson was to purchase;
• Perez Jefferson received a call from Jackson while at the police station
that the drug deal was “imminent”;
• Byes-Sanders arrived at Perez Jefferson’s house in the vehicle Perez
Jefferson described as belonging to “Dev”;
• within seconds of Byes-Sanders arriving at the house, “Dev”
communicated with Perez Jefferson saying “I’m here”;
• Byes-Sanders fit the description of “Dev” provided by Perez Jefferson;
and
• Byes-Sanders came to the back door of the house to effectuate the
drug transaction, as Perez Jefferson said he would.
Id. at 6-7. Pursuant to its conclusion that the search was incident to Byes-
Sanders’ proper arrest, the trial court found that suppression was not
warranted.
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Byes-Sanders asserts that this was insufficient to give rise to a finding
of probable cause to arrest him because (1) Lieutenant Nolan testified that
he was not certain that it was “Dev” at the door; (2) Perez Jefferson said
“Dev” would arrive with the stereo “thumping,” and Lieutenant did not know
if that was the case when Byes-Sanders arrived; and (3) Byes-Sanders did
not have anything to carry the ½ kilo of cocaine, all of which distinguish this
case from Commonwealth v. Guzman, 612 A.2d 524 (Pa. Super. 1992),
abrogated on other grounds by Commonwealth v. Bell, 645 A.2d 211 (Pa.
1994). Byes-Sanders’ Brief at 13-14.
Police are empowered to arrest a suspect without a warrant, inter alia,
if the officer has probable cause that the suspect has committed a felony.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 502(2)(b).
Probable cause is made out when the facts and
circumstances which are within the knowledge of the
officer at the time of the arrest, and of which he has
reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient to
warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief
that the suspect has committed or is committing a
crime. The question we ask is not whether the
officer's belief was correct or more likely true than
false. Rather, we require only a probability, and not
a prima facie showing, of criminal activity. In
determining whether probable cause exists, we apply
a totality of the circumstances test.
Commonwealth v. Thompson, 985 A.2d 928, 931 (Pa. 2009) (internal
citations, quotations, and emphasis omitted).
[A] warrantless search incident to a lawful arrest is
reasonable, and no justification other than that
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required for the arrest itself is necessary to conduct
such a search. Stated another way, in all cases of
lawful arrests, police may fully search the person
incident to the arrest. Consequently, any evidence
seized as a result of a search incident to a lawful
arrest is admissible in later proceedings.
Commonwealth v. Ingram, 814 A.2d 264, 272 (Pa. Super. 2002) (internal
citations and emphasis omitted).
In Guzman, the police discovered cocaine while executing a search
warrant at an apartment. Upon his arrest, the apartment’s resident
arranged for the delivery of two kilos of cocaine to his apartment, and
described the person who would be coming to the apartment and the vehicle
in which he would arrive. Guzman, 612 A.2d at 525.
The defendant came to the apartment in the described vehicle and he
physically matched the description provided. He was also carrying a satchel
large enough to carry two kilos of cocaine. When the defendant knocked on
the apartment door, police arrested him immediately, searched the satchel
and unwrapped the packages contained therein, revealing over two kilos of
cocaine. Id.
Based upon the totality of the circumstances, including that the
defendant arrived in the vehicle described, matched the description
provided, and was carrying a bag large enough to carry the amount of
cocaine expected, this Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the
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defendant’s motion to suppress, as there was probable cause to support his
warrantless arrest. Id. at 526.
Turning to the case at bar, we are unmoved by the points made by
Byes-Sanders in an attempt to distinguish this case from Guzman. First, we
note that Byes-Sanders’ claim that Lieutenant Nolan was not certain that the
person at the door was “Dev” is inaccurate. Rather, the record reflects that
Lieutenant Nolan testified that when Byes-Sanders came to the door he was
unsure that it was in fact Byes-Sanders. N.T., 1/7/13, at 32. Lieutenant
Nolan never expressed any doubt that the person knocking on the door was
“Dev,” whom he knew would be bringing ½ kilo of cocaine. It is irrelevant
for probable cause purposes whether the police knew the specific identity of
the individual who brought the cocaine prior to effectuating the arrest –
probable cause to arrest is based upon knowledge that the person at the
door, regardless of his name, is committing a crime. Thompson, 985 A.2d
at 931.
Furthermore, Lieutenant Nolan’s inability to recall whether the stereo
was “thumping” when Byes-Sanders arrived as Perez Jefferson said was the
case with “Dev” in the past and the absence of a satchel or bag to carry the
cocaine does not negate a finding of probable cause. The record reflects
that police recovered $15,000 during the search of the home of Perez
Jefferson, a known drug dealer, which was bundled in a manner consistent
with drug purchases. N.T., 1/7/13, at 6, 12-13. Perez Jefferson stated that
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the money was going to be used to purchase ½ kilo of cocaine, which would
be brought to his house later that day by an intermediary known as “Dev.”
Id. at 9, 11, 12. The street value of ½ kilo of cocaine is approximately
$15,000. Id. at 15. He received a call while at the police station, indicating
that the drug transaction was “imminent.” Id. at 19, 20, 23. Byes-Sanders
arrived at the house in the vehicle described, matched the description
provided, and went to the back door of the house, as Perez Jefferson said he
would. Id. at 13-14, 15, 28, 29. At the same time Byes-Sanders arrived at
the house, Perez Jefferson received a communication from “Dev” which said,
“I’m here.” Id. at 29.
Applying the totality of the circumstances test, we agree with the trial
court that the evidence presented supported Lieutenant Nolan’s belief that
Byes-Sanders was committing a felony, to wit, possession of a controlled
substance with intent to deliver. See Thompson, 985 A.2d at 931. Thus,
the cocaine discovered on Byes-Sanders’ person, recovered during the
search incident to his arrest, was properly admitted. See Ingram, 814 A.2d
at 272.
The record supports the trial court’s findings of fact and the legal
conclusions drawn therefrom are correct. See Thompson, 93 A.3d at 484.
We therefore affirm the judgment of sentence.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
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Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 8/21/2014
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