USA v. DaCruz

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND
___________________________________
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, )
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v. ) Cr. No. 23-52 WES
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RYAN DACRUZ, )
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Defendant. )
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___________________________________)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
WILLIAM E. SMITH, District Judge.
The government charged Defendant Mr. Ryan DaCruz with one
count of felon in possession of ammunition under 18 U.S.C.
§§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8). Indictment, ECF No. 21. Defendant
moves to suppress all evidence seized pursuant to the warrant
issued to search and seize Defendant and his cellphone on the basis
that the affidavit supporting the warrant failed to establish
probable cause. Mot. Suppress 1, ECF No. 39. For the following
reasons, Defendant’s Motion is DENIED.
I. FACTS
Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan authorized the search and
seizure of Defendant and his cellphone on May 30, 2023. GXA,
Application for a Warrant by Telephone or Other Reliable Electronic
Means (“Search Warrant”) 1, ECF No 41-1. Special Agent Anthony
Ventetuolo of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
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Explosives (“ATF”) applied for the warrant to search for and seize
evidence of violations of 18 U.S.C §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(c). Id.
¶ 5. Officers from ATF and the Central Falls Police Department
executed the search on May 31, 2023, at Defendant’s 991 Lonsdale
Avenue, Central Falls, Rhode Island residence. Mem. & Order 2,
ECF No. 37.
In support of the application for a search warrant, Ventetuolo
swore to the following facts:
• Defendant is a member of the East Side gang and has been part
of its feud with the Chad Brown gang. Search Warrant ¶¶ 7-
8;
• Defendant pled nolo contendere in state court for possession
of a controlled substance and carrying a pistol without a
permit for which he was sentenced to three years of
probation. Id. ¶ 9;
• A shooting occurred on March 11, 2023, on Swanton Street in
Providence, Rhode Island that resulted in the wounding of
two persons, one a Chad Brown gang member. Id. ¶ 10-11.
Prior to the shooting, the victims were at Lang’s Bowlarama
in Cranston, Rhode Island. Id. ¶ 11. When they drove off
from the Bowlarama’s parking lot, a white Honda Accord Sport
followed them. Id. ¶ 12. The gunshots that struck the two
victims came from the Honda Accord. Id.;
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• As part of Providence Police Department’s and ATF’s
investigation into the shooting, see id. ¶¶ 10-15,
investigators reviewed cellphone data connected to the cell
tower in the Swanton Street area where, and around the time
when, the shooting took place, id. ¶¶ 20-21;
• The investigation revealed that the only time Defendant’s
cellphone connected to that cell tower – which serves the
area encompassing Swanton Street and the Bowlarama - was
around the time of the shooting. Id. ¶ 21;
• Defendant’s cellphone connected multiple times with the
cellphones of two fellow gang members who were involved in
the shooting around the time it took place. See id. ¶¶ 23-
27;
• One of the gang members with whom Defendant communicated on
the day of the shooting, James Adams, was known by law
enforcement for providing firearms and vehicles to other gang
members “to use in ‘active’ assaults of rival gang members.”
Id. ¶ 26;
• A grey Acura TL that was parked in the Bowlarama parking lot
and left when the white Honda Accord pulled into the parking
lot was registered to the other gang member with whom
Defendant was communicating, Jordan Komhlan. See id. ¶¶ 23-
25. Komhlan’s phone connected to the relevant cell tower.
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Id. ¶ 24. This behavior suggests Komhlan served as the
“lookout” on the night of the shooting. Id. ¶ 29;
• Defendant continued to use the phone in question after March
11, 2023. See id. ¶¶ 30-39;
• The cellphones of Adams and Komhlan connected with each other
three times during a ten-minute period prior to the shooting.
Id. ¶ 27;
• The presence of Chad Brown gang members where the shooting
took place, and the behavior of the grey Acura, suggests the
victims were targeted. Id. ¶ 29.
Upon executing the search warrant and searching Defendant and
his apartment, the government seized marijuana, ammunition, and
crack cocaine. Mem. & Order 2-4.
II. DISCUSSION
Defendant bears the initial burden of showing a Fourth
Amendment violation by a preponderance of the evidence. United
States v. Matlock, 415 U.S. 164, 178 n.14 (1974); United States v.
Young, 835 F.3d 13, 19 (1st Cir. 2016); United States v. Lopes,
578 F. Supp. 3d 158, 162 (D. Mass. 2021).
Probable cause requires that “the facts presented to the
magistrate need only ‘warrant a man of reasonable caution’ to
believe that evidence of a crime will be found.” United States v.
Soto, 799 F.3d 68, 84 (1st Cir. 2015) (quoting United States v.
Feliz, 182 F.3d 82, 86 (1st Cir. 1999), in turn quoting Texas v.
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Brown, 460 U.S. 730, 742, (1983)). In other words, probable cause
is a “commonsense, nontechnical conception[] that deal[s] with the
factual and practical considerations of everyday life on which
reasonable and prudent [people], not legal technicians, act.”
United States v. Burhoe, 409 F.3d 5, 10 (1st Cir. 2005) (first two
alterations in original) (quoting Ornelas v. United States, 517
U.S. 690, 695 (1996)).
“[T]he warrant application must demonstrate probable cause to
believe that a particular person has committed a crime — ‘the
commission element’ - and that enumerated evidence relevant to the
probable criminality likely is located at the place to be searched
— ‘the “nexus” element.’” United States v. Zayas–Diaz, 95 F.3d
105, 110–11 (1st Cir. 1996) (quoting United States v. Fuccillo,
808 F.2d 173, 175 (1st Cir. 1987) cert. denied, 482 U.S. 905
(1987)). “As to the nexus requirement, a court need only determine
that there is a ‘“fair probability” - not certainty - that evidence
of a crime will be found in a particular location’ based on the
totality of the circumstances.” United States v. Lindsey, 3 F.4th
32, 39 (1st Cir. 2021) (quoting United States v. Dixon, 787 F.3d
55, 60 (1st Cir. 2015)). “The nexus between the alleged crime and
place to be searched may be ‘inferred from the type of crime, the
nature of the items sought, . . . and normal inferences as to where
a criminal would hide [evidence of a crime].’” Id. (alternations
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in original) (quoting United States v. Rodrigue, 560 F.3d 29, 33
(1st Cir. 2009)).
The reviewing court “must accord ‘considerable deference’ to
the ‘probable cause’ determination made by the issuing
magistrate.” Zayas–Diaz, 95 F.3d at 111. When reviewing an
affidavit supporting probable cause, the court determines its
sufficiency by reviewing the “totality of the circumstances”
stated within the four corners of the affidavit. United States v.
Khounsavanh, 113 F.3d 279, 283 (1st Cir. 1997) (quoting Illinois
v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238 (1983)).
In reviewing the totality of the circumstances, the Court
concludes the affidavit supporting the warrant sufficiently
establishes probable cause that Defendant’s cellphone was involved
in the March 11 shooting, Defendant was in possession of that
cellphone, and the cellphone had potentially relevant evidence.
Defendant’s cellphone’s connection to the geographic area around
the time of the incident, Defendant’s association with the gang
and its members involved in the incident, and Defendant’s prior
criminal history created a fair inference that the cellphone would
contain evidence related to the March 11 incident and potential
violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(c). See Search
Warrant ¶ 5.
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III. CONCLUSION
Accordingly, Defendant’s Motion to Suppress, ECF No. 39, is
DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
William E. Smith
District Judge
Date: November 17, 2023
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