NY Westchester: Ptf survives summary judgment on search of wrong house

Plaintiffs’ house was subject to a no-knock search warrant by the SWAT team with flashbang explosive set off inside. Once in, it was apparent that the place was not at all as described by the confidential informant. Plaintiff survives summary judgment because a question of fact remains on (1) whether probable cause was shown, (2) whether the police made material omissions from the affidavit for search warrant that they had information that this was not the right place, and (3) trashing the house in a vain effort to find drugs after it was apparent they had the wrong house. Edwards v. City of Mount Vernon, 2014 NY Slip Op 24319, 2014 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4602 (Westchester Co. October 23, 2014).

Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence found in his girlfriend’s apartment was denied because he had no Fourth Amendment right to prevent a search or seizure there. He failed to establish he had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the apartment because she consistently maintained he did not stay in the apartment and he did not show otherwise. Even if he had been staying overnight with the girlfriend, exigent circumstances justified the officers to enter the apartment to stop defendant from destroying evidence because, when defendant walked in on the interview with the girlfriend he ran to the bathroom, and it was reasonable for the officers to believe that defendant had run to the bathroom to destroy evidence. She consented to a search. McCoy v. State, 2014 Miss. App. LEXIS 594 (October 21, 2014).*