United States v. Malagerio


Case: 21-10729 Document: 00516482799 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/23/2022 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED September 23, 2022 No. 21-10729 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Paul Michael Malagerio, Defendant—Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 5:20-CR-154 Before Smith, Clement, and Haynes, Circuit Judges. Jerry E. Smith, Circuit Judge: Paul Malagerio was seized by federal agents under an administrative warrant. A search of his trailer revealed several firearms that Malagerio, an illegal alien, could not lawfully possess. He moved to suppress evidence of the weapons, maintaining that the arrest and search violated the Fourth Amendment. The district court denied Malagerio’s motion, and he appeals. Mala- gerio says that the agents exceeded the scope of their administrative warrant by arresting him not in a public place but in his doorway. We conclude that Case: 21-10729 Document: 00516482799 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/23/2022 No. 21-10729 the district court did not err in finding that Malagerio was not arrested in his home or its curtilage. As for the search of the trailer, the record confirms the district court’s finding that Malagerio consented. Because there was no error in the denial of the motion to suppress, we affirm the conviction. I. Malagerio is a Canadian citizen. He last entered the United States in 2013 without a visa, meaning that he could not legally remain for more than six months. In 2020, the Department of Homeland Security received a tip that Malagerio was in the country illegally. After further investigation, the senior detention deportation officer in charge of the case found probable cause that Malagerio was present unlawfully and issued an administrative warrant for his arrest. A team of at least six agents was dispatched to arrest Malagerio around 7:00 am. The agents were concerned that Malagerio, who works in the exotic animals industry, might have access to firearms or dangerous animals. Mala- gerio was living in a trailer park; the owner of the trailer park allowed the agents to enter the property to talk to Malagerio. One of the officers had his bodycam turned on at this point and for about three minutes thereafter, though there is no audio until about halfway through that period. An agent, having already unholstered his gun, then knocked on Mala- gerio’s door and told him to come out with his hands up. Malagerio re- sponded that he would be out shortly and came to the door about sixty to ninety seconds later. In the meantime, the agent on point had knocked re- peatedly and “ordered” Malagerio to come out. By the time Malagerio came to the door, most or all of the agents had trained their guns on him, including one shotgun. The agents instructed Malagerio several times to keep his hands up and exit the trailer. Malagerio complied and was promptly handcuffed. The 2 Case: 21-10729 Document: 00516482799 Page: 3 Date Filed: 09/23/2022 …

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