U.S. v. Seppala

OPINION & ORDER

*1 Defendant Gerald Seppala (“Seppala”) is charged with wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§1342-43 and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1349.Seppala moves to suppress his post-arrest statements to law enforcement officers on the grounds that admitting such statements would violate his rights under the Sixth Amendment and Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).¹ Seppala’s motion is GRANTED because Seppala unambiguously invoked his right to counsel when he asked, “Do I have an opportunity to call an attorney?”I. BACKGROUNDOn June 22, 2016, Seppala was indicted by a Grand Jury sitting in this District. (Indictment, ECF No. 1.) Six days later, at around 7:00 a.m., a team of Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) agents led by Special Agent Matthew Vogel (“SA Vogel”) arrived at Seppala’s home to execute a search warrant. (Gov’t Opp’n, ECF No. 70, at 2.) The agents arrested Seppala, who had never been arrested before. (Def.’s Aff, ECF No. 69, 16.)