Hiding a bag in an apartment’s outside dryer vent accessible from common area manifested no expectation of privacy

The defendant hid a bag in his apartment’s dryer vent which was accessible by anyone in the common area of the apartment complex. He failed to show a reasonable expectation of privacy in that place. People v. Carodine, 374 Ill. App. 3d 16, 311 Ill. Dec. 856, 869 N.E.2d 869 (1st Dist. 2007):

Guided by the foregoing factors, we conclude that defendant failed to carry his burden of establishing that he held a reasonable expectation of privacy in the dryer vent. Neal, 109 Ill. 2d at 218. Defendant had no possessory interest in the area searched. Although defendant leased the apartment in which he and his mother resided, he had no possessory interest to the common area from which the officer reached because the inhabitants of two other units had access to the common area. Defendant had no possessory interest in the exterior wall outside of his apartment and no possessory interest to the dryer vent. Although the dryer vent was used exclusively by the basement apartment, which the defendant inhabited with his mother, the dryer vent was accessible to the landlord, who was responsible for the maintenance of the exterior of the building, and other members of the general public including deliverymen, door-to-door salesmen, etc. Defendant did not have the ability to control or exclude others’ use of the property. He had no ability to exclude others from the common property from which the officer reached, had no ability to exclude others from the exterior wall of the building, and had no ability to exclude others from the dryer vent.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, defendant argues that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the dryer vent because it led to the inside of his apartment. The fact that the dryer vent leads to the inside of defendant’s apartment is outweighed by the more persuasive fact that the dryer vent is accessible to the outside world from the exterior wall of the building.

Defendant lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy as a guest in his girlfriend’s apartment. While he had lived there before, he did not at the time of the search. His primary residence was elsewhere, and he seldom spent the night. Commonwealth v. Colon, 449 Mass. 207, 866 N.E.2d 412 (2007).*

Probable cause existed for arrest of the defendant for hand to hand drug deals. They could search a bulge in his sock. State v. O’Neal, 190 N.J. 601, 921 A.2d 1079 (N.J. May 22, 2007).*

Frisk of defendant was justified for safety reasons during execution of a search warrant where he was on the premises because there was reason to believe that the target of the search had lookouts there for him. State v. Marquez, 2007 UT App 170, 163 P.3d 687, 578 Utah Adv. Rep. 3 (2007)*:

[*P12] The record reflects that the officers received information that Gerrish was a fugitive, wanted for possession of controlled substances, that he was “hiding out” in the residence, and that other persons present at the home were acting as “lookouts” for him. Upon entering the house, Officer Wood testified that he did not know whether Marquez was Gerrish, and that he did not know what “the situation was inside the house.” These facts, coupled with the inherent danger associated with entering a residence at night, sufficiently establish that “a reasonably prudent man in the circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his safety or that of others was in danger.” Terry, 392 U.S. 1 at 23, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889; cf. Summers, 452 U.S. at 702-03 (noting that execution of warrant to search for drugs “may give rise to sudden violence or frantic efforts to conceal or destroy evidence”). Further, information that occupants may be acting as “lookouts” for Gerrish reasonably suggests that any person on the premises during the search might violently interfere with the search or the arrest of Gerrish. Accordingly, we agree with the trial court that the frisk was reasonable for purposes of officer safety and therefore did not violate Marquez’s Fourth Amendment rights.