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United States v. Williams

United States v. Williams

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

November 29, 2018, Argued; July 9, 2019, Decided

No. 17-3741-cr

Opinion

 [*50]  Debra Ann Livingston, Circuit Judge:

Defendant-Appellant Andy Williams ("Williams") appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (DeArcy Hall, J.), entered November 14, 2017, following a jury trial, convicting him of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, Williams argues that (1) the loaded firearm found in the center console of the rental car that he was driving on the day of his arrest should have been suppressed at trial because it was discovered during an improper second [**3]  inventory search of the vehicle; (2) his exculpatory post-arrest statements denying knowledge or ownership of the firearm should have been admitted when his oral and written statements confessing ownership were introduced; and (3) evidence as to his gang affiliation and willingness to assist police in finding guns and drugs should have been excluded under Fed. R. Evid. 403 and 404(b).

We conclude that (1) police did not violate the Fourth Amendment by returning to search Williams's car again after detectives overheard Williams make a phone call that aroused their suspicion that they may have missed something of value in the car during their initial inventory search; (2) contrary to Williams's claim, neither the doctrine of completeness nor the Fifth Amendment mandated the admission of his post-arrest statements denying ownership or knowledge of the gun; and (3) Williams's arguments as to the inadmissibility of the evidence of his gang affiliation and willingness to assist the police either (a) fail because the evidence was properly admitted pursuant to Rule 404(b) and was not unfairly prejudicial or (b) are waived. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

BACKGROUND

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930 F.3d 44 *; 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 20262 **; 2019 WL 2932436

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, -v.- ANDY WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.

Subsequent History: As Corrected July 10, 2019.

US Supreme Court certiorari denied by Williams v. United States, 2021 U.S. LEXIS 3188 (U.S., June 21, 2021)

Prior History: Defendant-Appellant Andy Williams appeals from a judgment entered in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (DeArcy Hall, J.) convicting him of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, Williams argues that (1) the gun found in his car should have been suppressed at trial, because it was discovered during a second warrantless search of the car that was conducted only after detectives overheard Williams make a phone call that aroused their suspicions that they may have missed something of value in the car during their initial inventory search; (2) his post-arrest statements denying ownership of the gun should have been admitted at the same time as his oral and written confessions; and (3) evidence as to his gang affiliation and willingness to assist police in finding guns and drugs should have been excluded under Fed. R. Evid. 403 and 404(b). We conclude that (1) both searches of Williams's car were valid inventory searches; (2) contrary to Williams's argument, the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to admit his post-arrest statements denying ownership of the gun; and (3) Williams's arguments as to the inadmissibility of the evidence of his gang [**2]  affiliation and willingness to assist the police either (a) fail because the evidence was properly admitted pursuant to Rule 404(b) [**1]  and was not unfairly prejudicial or (b) are waived.

United States v. Williams, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117530 (E.D.N.Y., Aug. 31, 2016)

Disposition: Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

CORE TERMS

inventory search, district court, gun, post-arrest, confession, argues, firearm, weapon, gang, circumstances, suppression, misleading, inventory, exculpatory, admitting, second search, standardized, searches, rental, center console, driving, loaded, motive, propensity, ownership, images, inside, paneling, console, hearsay

Criminal Law & Procedure, Standards of Review, Clearly Erroneous Review, Motions to Suppress, De Novo Review, Search & Seizure, Warrantless Searches, Inventory Searches, Constitutional Law, Fundamental Rights, Scope of Protection, Abuse of Discretion, Evidence, Evidence, Types of Evidence, Documentary Evidence, Completeness, Testimony, Presentation of Evidence, Procedural Due Process, Self-Incrimination Privilege, Admissibility, Conduct Evidence, Prior Acts, Crimes & Wrongs, Relevance, Exclusion of Relevant Evidence, Confusion, Prejudice & Waste of Time, Procedural Matters, Rulings on Evidence, Reviewability, Waiver, Exceptions & Validity of Waivers, Preservation for Review, Requirements