US v. Jerry E. Hartsoe

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 3:13-cr-00479-CMC-1. Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999519563].. [14-4559]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-4559

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JERRY ELMO HARTSOE,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Columbia.
Cameron McGowan Currie, Senior
District Judge. (3:13-cr-00479-CMC-1)

Submitted:

January 14, 2015

Decided:

January 29, 2015

Before DUNCAN and FLOYD, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

William W. Watkins, Sr., WILLIAM W. WATKINS, PA, Columbia, South
Carolina, for Appellant.
William N. Nettles, United States
Attorney, T. DeWayne Pearson, Assistant United States Attorney,
Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Jerry Elmo Hartsoe was convicted by a jury of eight
counts

of

mail

fraud,

in

violation

of

18

U.S.C.

§§ 2, 1341

(2012); and one count of making false statements, in violation
of

18

U.S.C.

convictions

§ 1001

should

(2012).

be

vacated

Hartsoe
because

asserts

that

his

argues

that

the

he

district court erred when it allowed into evidence statements he
made

to

law

accordance

enforcement

with

Miranda

before
v.

being

Arizona,

read
384

his

U.S.

rights,
436

in

(1966).

Finding no error, we affirm.
We review the factual findings underlying the district
court’s denial of a motion to suppress for clear error and the
court’s legal conclusions de novo.

United States v. Kelly, 592

F.3d 586, 589 (4th Cir. 2010); United States v. Colonna, 511
F.3d 431, 434 (4th Cir. 2007).

When a suppression motion has

been denied, this court “construe[s] the evidence in the light
most favorable to the [G]overnment.”

Id.

“Moreover, when a

district court’s factual finding is based upon assessments of
witness credibility, such finding is deserving of the highest
degree of appellate deference.”
F.3d

450,

452

(4th

Cir.

United States v. Thompson, 554

2009)

(internal

quotation

marks

omitted).
There is no dispute that Miranda warnings are required
when a subject is interrogated while in custody.
2

Miranda, 384

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U.S. at 444.

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The test for determining whether an individual is

in custody for Miranda purposes is whether, under the totality
of

the

circumstances,

the

suspect’s

freedom

of

action

curtailed to a degree associated with formal arrest.
v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 440 (1984).

is

Berkemer

Thus, the key question is

whether, viewed objectively, a reasonable man in the suspect’s
position would have believed he was “in custody.”

Id. at 442.

Because Hartsoe’s presence was voluntary at all times
prior to, during, and after his interview by law enforcement, we
find it unlikely that a reasonable person in Hartsoe’s position
would have believed himself to be in custody during the search
of

his

business.

Hartsoe

was

not

summoned

to

the

search

location by law enforcement, law enforcement agents were not
actively seeking Hartsoe, nor did they do anything to encourage
his arrival.

In fact, when Hartsoe arrived at the scene of the

search, law enforcement asked Hartsoe to leave.

And Hartsoe’s

own testimony evidences that his demeanor upon arriving at the
scene
someone

was

aggressive

who

was

and

demanding,

intimidated

and

and

not

believed

he

indicative
was

in

of
law

enforcement custody.
Once inside the location of the search, the record
establishes

that

Hartsoe

voluntarily

entered

a

separate

room

with the agents so he could escape the commotion caused by law
enforcement’s search, and the agents informed him that he was
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not

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under

Hartsoe

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arrest

testified

and

that

that

he

he

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was

free

approached

to

two

leave.

agents

to

In

fact,

ask

them

questions about the search warrant, and that he ultimately ended
the conversation with the agents by telling them to “Call me
when you’re done, I’ll come back.”
Based on the foregoing, we find that a reasonable man
in Hartsoe’s position would not have believed himself to be “in
custody.”

See United States v. Hargrove, 625 F.3d 170, 179-82

(4th

2010)

Cir.

(finding

defendant

not

“in

custody”

during

police questioning where some officers were armed upon entry of
the defendant’s home; officers directed the occupants’ actions
during the initial safety sweep of the residence, and conducted
a safety pat down of the defendant; only two agents were with
the

defendant

during

the

interview;

the

defendant

was

never

placed in handcuffs and although the agents who questioned him
were armed, their firearms were not drawn during the interview
and they did not threaten defendant; one of the agents told the
defendant prior to the interview that he was not under arrest
and

was

free

to

leave;

the

interview

was

conducted

at

the

defendant’s residence and not a law enforcement facility; and
the defendant was free to move about his home during the search
so long as he did not interfere with the search).
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment.
We

dispense

with

oral

argument
4

because

the

facts

and

legal

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contentions

are

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adequately

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presented

in

the

materials

before

this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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