The opinion
STATE OF MAINE UCD
CUMBERLAND, ss. DOCKET NO. CR-11-7974
STATE OF MAINE
ORDER ON
v. MOTION TO SUPPRESS
ABDIAZIZ DAHIR
Introduction
Pending is Defendant Dahir' s Motion to Suppress arising out of his arrest on
December 8, 2011. A hearing on the Motion to Suppress took place on April 24, 2012.
The State presented the testimony of Westbrook detectives Steven Crocker and Kurt
Bosse. In his motion, the Defendant contends that his initial detention was not
supported by reasonable articulable suspicion, nor was his subsequent arrest supported
by probable cause. In addition, Defendant contends that he did not validly waive his
Miranda rights and that his statements to the police were not voluntary. For the
reasons set forth below, the court denies Defendant's Motion to Suppress.
Facts
Detectives Crocker and Bosse testified generally to the following facts: At
approximately 4:00 a.m. on December 8, 2011, the victim, Michael Rulman, a taxi cab
driver, picked up three black males in Portland and drove them to Brackett Street in
Westbrook. While in route, the three passengers spoke about visiting the "BM" of one
of the three. (Detective Crocker testified that "BM" is street parlance for "Baby Mama"
i.e., the mother of someone's child).
When the taxi arrived at the intersection of Brackett and Prospect Streets in
Westbrook, the front street passenger pulled out a knife and held it to the victim's
throat while demanding his money. The victim complied and produced the contents of
his pockets while the front seat passenger cut the microphone cord to the taxi radio.
The two' rear passengers then held knives to the back of the victim's neck. The victim
fled the car and was pursued for a short distance by the front seat passenger. The front
seat passenger then ran in the direction of Westbrook Gardens with the other two
passengers. The assailants took Mr. Rulman's cellphone with them whn they fled.
Police initially attempted to follow the path of the suspects with a police dog, but
that attempt was unsuccessful. The victim was then taken to the Westbrook Police
Department where he provided a statement and described the assailants. Mr. Rulman
described the front seat passenger as a tall, about 6' 2," light skinned black man wearing
an "Air Force style hat," which had fur on the front and earflaps and may have been
green. The front seat passenger was also described as wearing a puffy coat.
Mr. Rulman described one backseat passenger as being about 5' 8" tall, 140-150
pounds with dark skin, wearing a green parka with a hood. Mr. Rulman did not see the
other backseat passenger sufficiently to describe him.
Mr. Rulman's cell phone was located in the vicinity of Brackett Street that
morning. At approximately 2:00 p.m. that same day, Detectives Crocker and Bosse did a
drive-by of the area where the incident had occurred. As they drove up Brackett Street,
they saw three black males walking together. One was approximately 6' 2" tall wearing
a puffy coat. The other two males were shorter. Thus, the three males generally
matched the description given by Mr. Rulman. The detectives stopped the three males
and one was identified as the Defendant Dahir. After the males were advised of the
nature of the police investigation, all three denied having taken a cab to that area that
morning. The males stated that, instead, they had stayed all night at the residence of
the "BM" of one of them. She was identified as Leanna Alexander, who resided nearby
in Westbrook Gardens. They said that they had ordered pizza at her residence.
While Detective Bosse went to contact Leanna Alexander at her residence,
approximately two tenths of a mile away, Detective Crocker remained on Brackett
Street with the three males, as well as three more uniformed Westbrook Police Officers
who had arrived as backup. While Detective Bosse was pursing the investigation, two
of the males, including the Defendant, complained about being cold and one of the
Westbrook Officers offered to let them sit in his cruiser to stay warm. The window was
left partially opened so that the two could let the officers know if they wished to leave
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the cruiser. None of the defendants were in handcuffs and neither of the defendants in
the cruiser asked to leave it. Detective Bosse did not find Ms. Alexander at her
residence, but spoke with a neighbor who reported seeing the three males leaving that
residence earlier.
Within a few minutes, Detective Bosse returned to the scene where the
Defendant was waiting in the police cruiser. One of the males, David Martinez,
provided the cell phone number of Ms. Alexander. Detective Bosse then called Ms.
Alexander and was told that the three males had, in fact, not been at her residence all
night. Ms. Alexander stated that, instead, the three males had arrived at approximately
5:00 a.m. pounding on the door to be let in. Ms. Alexander stated that the three males
sounded like "5-0," which Detectives Crocker and Bosse testified meant that the three
males were pounding so loudly that Ms. Alexander thought the police were at her door.
Detective Bosse then made contact with Ms. Alexander at a nearby convenience
store. She accompanied him to her residence where she gave consent to a search.
During that search, the detectives located an Air Force style hat, a "Somali Pirates" t
shirt, Mr. Rulman's cut up driver's license, as well as Rulman's Sears card and his
AARP card. The detectives also located a knife that Ms. Alexander stated was not hers.
The detectives further found pizza boxes that corroborated that the three males had
ordered pizza from Ms. Alexander's residence that day.
While the consent search of Ms. Alexander's residence was in progress, the
Defendant and a juvenile co-defendant were detained and taken to the Westbrook
Police Department. The other male defendant, Martinez, was arrested for violating a
protection order for having contact with Ms. Alexander.
Detectives Crocker and Bosse then proceeded to the Westbrook Police
Department where they conducted an interview of Defendant Dahir, which was
recorded by video. A DVD containing that video was admitted into evidence at the
hearing. As requested by the State and by the Defendant, the Court reviewed the first
twenty minutes of the video after the testimonial hearing on the Motion to Suppress
was completed. At the outset of the interview, Detective Crocker read the Defendant
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his Miranda rights and obtained a written waiver of those Miranda rights. During the
interview, the Defendant initially denied being in the cab, but later confessed to being in
the backseat during the robbery and fleeing the scene. Throughout the portion of the
interview viewed by the Court, the Defendant appeared calm and was not noticeably
upset. Detectives Crocker and Bosse did not make any promises and did not threaten
or coerce the Defendant.
Detectives Crocker and Bosse testified that approximately 45 minutes elapsed
from the time they first encountered the three males on Brackett Street to the time they
interviewed the Defendant at the Westbrook Police Station.
Discussion
1. Detectives Crocker and Bosse had reasonable articulable suspicion to stop
and question the Defendant.
"Law enforcement officers are justified in making an investigatory stop if, at the time of
the stop: (1) [they have] 'articulable suspicion' of criminal activity; and (2) [that] suspicion is
'objectively reasonable in the totality of the circumstances."' State v. Lear, 722 A.2d 1266, 1267
(Me. 1998) (quoting State v. Brown, 694 A.2d 453, 455). Reasonable articulable suspicion to
conduct an investigatory stop, as well as probable cause for detention, can rest on the collective
knowledge of the police. State v. Carr, 704 A.2d 353, 356 (Me. 1997).
The detectives here had information from Mr. Rulman, the victim, that he had been
robbed on Brackett Street at knifepoint at approximately 4:00 a.m., by three black males, one
approximately 6' 2" tall wearing a puffy coat, while the other males were shorter. After the
robbery, the three suspects had run off in the direction of Westbrook Gardens. When the
detectives had searched the area earlier that day, they had found the victim's cell phone in the
area of Brackett Street. With that knowledge, the detectives had reasonable articulable suspicion
to stop the Defendant and his two companions when they spotted them on Brackett Street at
approximately 2:00 p.m. Thus, the initial investigatory stop was valid.
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The court also finds that the initial stop did not at any point turn into an unlawful
detention. The Defendant and his juvenile companion waited at the scene for somewhere
between 30 and 45 minutes while Detective Bosse went to Ms. Alexander's residence, returned,
and spoke with Ms. Alexander on the telephone after obtaining her number from Mr. Martinez.
It was Defendant's choice to wait in the cruiser to stay warm. He would have been allowed to
leave the cruiser if he had requested.
2. There was probable cause to arrest the Defendant by the time he was
transported to the Westbrook Police Station.
Probable cause exists when the facts and circumstances within the collective knowledge
of the police would warrant a prudent and cautious person to believe that a crime has been or is
being committed. State v. Flint, 12 A.3d 54 (Me. 2011). In addition to the facts referenced
above, at the time the Defendant was transported to the Westbrook Police Station the officers
were aware that Ms. Alexander had contradicted the story given by the Defendant and his
companions. The officers had learned that defendants, instead of being there all night as they
had stated, had arrived at approximately 5:00 a.m., shortly after the accident, knocking at the
door in such a loud fashion that Ms. Alexander thought the police were trying to gain entry. That
would be consistent with the Defendant and his companions being in flight from the robbery.
That set of facts was sufficient to provide probable cause for the Defendant's arrest.
3. The Defendant was properly informed of his Miranda rights, validly waived
those rights, and his subsequent statements were voluntary.
Based on the testimony of Detectives Bosse and Crocker and the State's exhibits A and B
admitted into evidence at the hearing, the Court finds that Detective Crocker properly informed
the Defendant of his Miranda rights and the Court further finds that the State has demonstrated
beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived
those Miranda rights. The Court also finds that the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt
that the subsequent statements made by the Defendant were voluntary.
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Conclusion
The entry will be:
Defendant's Motion to Suppress to Suppress is denied.
DATED: June 7, 2012
Richard W. Mulhern
Judge, Maine District Court
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