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United States v. Lemus-Alvarado
Citations: 170 F. Supp. 2d 10; 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17750; 2001 WL 1335835Docket: CR. 01-60-P-C
Court: District Court, D. Maine; October 29, 2001; Federal District Court
Defendant Jose Lemus-Alvarado filed a Motion to Suppress statements and evidence obtained on or after July 2, 2001, which the Court denied. On that date, Judy Levasseur from the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles questioned the authenticity of documents presented by Lemus-Alvarado for a Maine Identification Card. After checking these documents with her supervisor, Jennifer Pease, they contacted Special Agent Paul Melican from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Pease identified Lemus-Alvarado as the individual presenting the documents, which Melican determined were fraudulent upon his arrival. Lemus-Alvarado admitted ownership of the documents and confessed to purchasing them in California after revealing his illegal entry into the U.S. from Honduras in January 2000. Following his arrest, Melican transported Lemus-Alvarado to the Cumberland County Jail, where he was detained overnight. The next day, upon confirming the invalidity of the alien registration card, Melican advised Lemus-Alvarado of his Miranda rights, which he waived, allowing further questioning regarding his personal information. Defendant argues for the suppression of statements made to Agent Melican on July 2, 2001, claiming that custodial interrogation occurred without the Miranda warnings. He contends that Agent Melican had probable cause to arrest him for presenting false documents, thus he was not free to leave. The Government acknowledges that interrogation took place but disputes the claim of custody. The Court finds that Defendant was not in custody prior to his arrest; despite the late hour and fewer customers at Motor Vehicles, he was never instructed that he could not leave. After a second photograph was taken, Defendant left the building, returned voluntarily, and engaged with Agent Melican in a public area without any threats or coercion. The Court notes that Defendant was arrested shortly after the questioning began, but no Miranda warnings were given until the next day. Additionally, there was no evidence of any post-arrest statements made before receiving these warnings. The only physical evidence, two identification documents, was voluntarily surrendered by Defendant to Motor Vehicles staff before Agent Melican arrived. Consequently, the Court denies Defendant's motions to suppress both his statements and the physical evidence.