United States v. Arthur Long
678 F. App'x 31
| 2d Cir. | 2017Background
- Arthur Long was convicted by a jury of possession with intent to distribute methylone and marijuana, maintaining premises for drug activity (21 U.S.C. § 856(a)(1)), and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)).
- A confidential informant (CI) made a controlled purchase of ecstasy and marijuana from Long at 35 Chi Mar Drive; Investigator Morales observed the CI enter and exit Long’s residence and later applied for search warrants for Long’s home and a white 1977 Cadillac registered to him.
- Officers arrested Long after being informed of the controlled purchase and the issued warrants; searches recovered drugs, large amounts of cash, drug packaging paraphernalia, a loaded AK-47, and a stolen handgun.
- Long moved to suppress the statements and physical evidence and sought a Franks hearing to challenge the warrant affidavit for alleged omissions about the CI’s reliability and payments; he also contested sufficiency of the evidence and a two-level obstruction enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1.
- The district court denied suppression and a Franks hearing, the jury convicted, and the court imposed consecutive terms (including 60 months for the § 924(c) count); Long appealed raising the suppression/Franks, sufficiency, and sentencing arguments.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probable cause/collective knowledge for stop, arrest, and searches | Government: controlled buy observed by investigator and shared with arresting officers established probable cause | Long: officers lacked reasonable suspicion/probable cause to stop/search/arrest him | Held: Probable cause existed; collective knowledge doctrine applied to impute CI information to arresting officer |
| Denial of Franks hearing (challenge to warrant affidavit) | Government: affidavit included corroboration and CI reliability; no material misrepresentations/omissions | Long: affidavit omitted CI’s addiction and payment history, warrant tainted | Held: No substantial preliminary showing of intentional material falsehoods or necessity to probable cause; denial proper |
| Sufficiency of evidence for § 924(c) and § 856(a)(1) convictions | Government: drugs, packaging materials, scales, cash, firearms in residence and admissions support convictions | Long: weapons for protection, drugs for personal use; insufficient proof of firearms-in-furtherance or premises use for distribution | Held: Evidence sufficient for both convictions—paraphernalia, cash, firearms, admissions supported inferences of distribution and firearms-in-furtherance |
| U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1 obstruction enhancement | Government: jail calls and threats to intimidate/coerce a witness/CIs warranted enhancement | Long: no willful obstruction; PSR did not recommend enhancement | Held: District court properly applied enhancement based on recorded threats and corroborating contacts showing intent to obstruct justice |
Key Cases Cited
- Rajaratnam, 719 F.3d 139 (2d Cir. 2013) (probable cause review principles and residual information analysis)
- Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690 (1996) (standards for reviewing probable cause determinations)
- Escalera v. Lunn, 361 F.3d 737 (2d Cir. 2004) (definition of probable cause to arrest)
- Bailey, 743 F.3d 322 (2d Cir. 2014) (requiring specific and articulable facts for suspicion)
- Colon, 250 F.3d 130 (2d Cir. 2001) (collective or imputed knowledge doctrine)
- Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978) (standards to obtain a hearing challenging warrant affidavit veracity)
- Mandell, 752 F.3d 544 (2d Cir. 2014) (Franks prerequisites: intentional material misrepresentations and necessity to probable cause)
- Coreas, 419 F.3d 151 (2d Cir. 2005) (omission of witness prior conviction not necessarily a Franks violation)
- Salameh, 152 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. 1998) (deference to issuing judge’s probable cause finding)
- Yannotti, 541 F.3d 112 (2d Cir. 2008) (sufficiency review: draw inferences for government)
- Coplan, 703 F.3d 46 (2d Cir. 2012) (exceedingly deferential standard for sufficiency challenges)
- Martinez, 54 F.3d 1040 (2d Cir. 1995) (packaging equipment probative of distribution)
- Snow, 462 F.3d 55 (2d Cir. 2006) (firearms near distribution paraphernalia support firearms-in-furtherance inference)
- Facen, 812 F.3d 280 (2d Cir. 2016) (elements of § 856(a)(1) offense)
- Feliz, 286 F.3d 118 (2d Cir. 2002) (attempts to influence witnesses fall within § 3C1.1 obstruction scope)
- Bonilla, 618 F.3d 102 (2d Cir. 2010) (standard of review for sentencing and guideline interpretation)