History
  • No items yet
midpage
United States v. Thomsin Pierre
698 F. App'x 604
| 11th Cir. | 2017
|
Check Treatment
|
Docket
Case Information

*1 Before JORDAN, ROSENBAUM and BLACK, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Thomsin Pierre appeals his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846. Pierre contends the district court erred when it denied his adopted motion to suppress evidence found on his cell phones seized pursuant to a non-arrest detention. After review, [1] we affirm.

I. DISCUSSION

Pierre argues on appeal that the plain-view doctrine did not apply in this case for two reasons: first, the officers did not have lawful access to his cell phones during the stop; and second, the incriminating nature of the cell phones was not immediately apparent. We need not, however, address his arguments because, as the Government points out, to the extent there was any error, it was harmless.

This Court will reverse on the basis of an erroneous evidentiary ruling “only if the resulting error was not harmless.” United States v. Hands , 184 F.3d 1322, 1329 (11th Cir.), corrected by 194 F.3d 1186 (11th Cir. 1999); see also Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(a). “[I]f the jury might have relied on the unconstitutional evidence in reaching its verdict, then the error was harmful unless the other evidence of guilt was so overwhelming that the defendant suffered no prejudice from the admitted evidence.” United States v. Khoury , 901 F.2d 948, 960 (11th Cir.), opinion modified on denial of reh’g, 910 F.2d 713 (11th Cir. 1990) (citing United States v. Drosten , 819 F.2d 1067, 1072 (11th Cir. 1987)). Here, although the jury may have relied in part on the cell phone evidence, the additional evidence of guilt was overwhelming. Both of Pierre’s co-conspirators that testified at trial stated that Pierre was the source of the funds for the attempted cocaine purchase, and they recounted at length and in detail his role. Moreover, the testimony of the arresting officers corroborated the co-conspirators’ stories regarding Pierre’s participation in the transaction: police observed Pierre at the scene of the attempted purchase involved in a verbal altercation with his co-conspirators after the cocaine deal fell through and saw him repossessing a blue bag full of cash that Pierre’s co- conspirators had assured an undercover agent was the purchase money. The police followed Pierre as he drove off with another co-conspirator; Pierre attempted to evade them while throwing objects out the window of the vehicle until he was arrested. After being read his Miranda rights, Pierre freely admitted the cash belonged to him. The arresting officer asked what he planned to buy with the money and Pierre replied that he was going to buy a “car,” which all of the witnesses at trial agreed is a well-known code word for cocaine. When the arresting officer inquired as to what kind of automobile Pierre intended to purchase, Pierre said he did not know, and when the officer asked whether “car” was in fact code for “cocaine,” Pierre merely chuckled and smirked. Finally, Pierre’s banking records and employment history indicated he lied to the officers about where the money came from. In short, the cell phone evidence, although indicative of Pierre’s guilt, was merely icing on the cake. The voluminous additional evidence of Pierre’s guilt was so overwhelming that any error in the introduction of the cell phone evidence was harmless. See Khoury , 901 F.2d at 960.

II. CONCLUSION

For the reasons stated above, we affirm Pierre’s conviction.

AFFIRMED.

[1] We review a district court’s denial of a motion to suppress under a mixed standard, reviewing the district court’s findings of fact for clear error, and its application of the law to those facts de novo . United States v. Bervaldi , 226 F.3d 1256, 1262 (11th Cir. 2000).

Case Details

Case Name: United States v. Thomsin Pierre
Court Name: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Date Published: Sep 29, 2017
Citation: 698 F. App'x 604
Docket Number: 16-15335
Court Abbreviation: 11th Cir.
Read the detailed case summary
AI-generated responses must be verified and are not legal advice.
Your Notebook is empty. To add cases, bookmark them from your search, or select Add Cases to extract citations from a PDF or a block of text.