United States of America v. Ricky Wilson

New Orleans, Louisiana possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial numb



On April 29, 2023, Wilson was allegedly eating at a Waffle House when a verbal altercation broke out with another customer. During the dispute, Wilson opened his backpack and pulled out a green pistol fitted with a drum magazine, placing the victim in fear for his life. The victim later identified Wilson's vehicle leaving the scene, as well as Wilson himself and the distinctive green pistol.



A detective investigating Wilson for an unrelated crime came across the police report from the Waffle House incident. The detective knew that Wilson's girlfriend rented an apartment at 212 Central Avenue and had previously surveilled the complex. On May 15—two weeks after the Waffle House incident—the detective observed Wilson's car parked at 212 Central

He then sought both an arrest warrant for Wilson and a search warrant for 212 Central to seize evidence connected to the Waffle House incident. The detective's affidavit in support of the search warrant stated, in

relevant part:



Ricky Wilson's residence is a multi-story, multi-family triplex

located on the west side of Central Avenue. . . . Wilson's

apartment is clearly marked by a black number "212” on the

white background, just to the right of the door. Intel obtained

during the investigation confirmed that Wilson's girlfriend

rents the apartment and witnesses have confirmed seeing

Wilson at the residence.



WHERE THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED ITEM(S)

IS/ARE BELIEVED TO BE LOCATED:



All items related to the aggravated assault investigation.

Ammunition, drum magazines, firearms, backpacks containing

firearms and any other evidence related to criminal activity

observed during the search.



The affidavit also recounted Wilson's alleged conduct at the Waffle

House:



[W]hile conducting the computer queries on Ricky C. Wilson,

Detective Stoltz located a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office

report dated[] April 29, 2023 written under item D-21545-23.

In that report, Wilson and his vehicle are named as the person

of interest. Wilson is suspected of pulling a firearm from his

backpack while inside of the Waffle House located at 559

Behrman Highway during a verbal argument with another

patron.



On Wednesday, May 10, 2023, Detective Stoltz and Special

Agent Sean Timber met with the victim in that incident.

During a videotaped interview the victim advised the suspect

(Ricky Wilson) was at the location with a female eating. At one

point, the suspect began rapping songs with vulgar language in

front of an elderly couple who was also in the business eating.



As the suspect finished rapping, a separate customer made

comments about it and as the suspect turned to engage, he

engaged the victim and not the actual person commenting. A

conversation ensued to the point that the suspect believed he

was not [sic] being disrespected so he reached into his backpack

and pulled out what the victim described as a "greenish”

colored pistol with a drum magazine. The victim advised the

suspect did not actually point the firearm at him but the entire

time the suspect was holding the firearm; he was in fear for his

life. The victim described at any second during the

conversation the suspect could have pointed the firearm,

pulled the trigger and shot him or anyone else in the business.



During the interview the victim was given a six person photo

array. As the victim reviewed the array, he eliminated five of

the suspects and identified the photo depicting Ricky C.

Wilson. After a positive identification, Detective Stoltz

showed the victim a photo of Wilson's vehicle that he also

positively identified. Finally, Detective Stoltz showed the

victim a recent Instagram video of Wilson rapping with a Glock

pistol and drum magazine. The victim positively identified the

firearm. As the interview ended, the victim confirmed that he

wanted to pursue charges against the suspect.



Having arrested Ricky C. Wilson in the past, Detective Stoltz confirmed his identity[.]



A state judge issued the warrant that morning. Officers searched 212 Central and found ammunition, marijuana, and a firearm.



Wilson moved to suppress the evidence. The district court granted the motion, finding that the affidavit "offered no nexus between the assault at the Waffle House and the search of the residence” and was "so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence entirely unreasonable.” The Government appealed.

The Constitution makes the home the “archetype”58 of protected

privacy—the “first among equals,”59 as Justice Scalia, a resolute protector

against police intrusion, put it. This protection would be emptied of meaning

if bare assertions sufficed and conjecture displaced cause.60 The warrant here

rested on faith, not facts, and the good-faith exception cannot salvage such a

bare-bones showing. Assumption is not evidence; geography is not nexus;

and intuition is not cause. Without those anchors, magistrates are left to

rubber-stamp hunches, and a hunch, however earnest, is no substitute for

probable cause. The Fourth Amendment draws a bright line: conjecture may

stir suspicion, but only cause can justify intrusion. Precedent therefore

compels the district court’s conclusion: the evidence must be excluded.



AFFIRMED