D.V.I.: Ordering defendant out of his house with guns drawn constitutes a constructive arrest in the home

Ordering defendant out of his house with guns drawn constitutes a constructive arrest in the home. His later consent to search it, however, was found attenuated. United States v. Bailey, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7851 (D.V.I. January 23, 2015):

Further, as Agent Adeen and Agent O’Quinn approached the front door and told Bailey to “come out [because] we need to speak to you,” they had their weapons drawn because they considered this a “high risk situation.” The Court does not question the agents’ decision to approach the residence with weapons drawn for safety reasons, and recognizes that the weapons were in the “low ready” position. Nonetheless, the Court finds that, under the circumstances here, when the two agents approached the residence with guns drawn and ordered Bailey out of the house, they displayed a show of authority and threat of force such that a reasonable person would not have believed he was free to remain in the house. Thus, Bailey was constructively arrested inside his home.

In view of the foregoing, the Court concludes that Bailey’s warrantless arrest violated the Fourth Amendment.