IN: CI was uncorroborated and his information old; no PC or GFE

The CI’s statement here was uncorroborated and 3-4 months old. Thus, the search warrant lacked probable cause and it was so lacking in probable cause, that the good faith exception cannot apply. Cartwright v. State, 2015 Ind. App. LEXIS 107 (February 25, 2015):

[29] The informant’s admission is not irrefutable evidence of criminal liability, particularly because he had not been charged with a crime and the admission was offered three to four months after the fact, without any independent evidence. Indeed, Detective Fortune declined to arrest the informant after the interview because he “didn’t have any evidence” of the informant’s alleged admitted crimes, thus indicating that the detective believed that the informant’s mere statements were insufficient to support a criminal charge. Tr. p. 33. Furthermore, in the portion of the affidavit where Detective Fortune explained why he believed the informant to be credible, Detective Fortune cited the informant’s description of the location of Cartwright’s home, not the informant’s admission of criminal activity, as proof of reliability.

[30] Under these circumstances, a reasonable person in the informant’s position could have concluded that, without any independent investigation or corroborating evidence from law enforcement, he or she was unlikely to be subjected to criminal liability for admitting to buying methamphetamine in the past. Argumentative and to the contrary, a person in the informant’s position could conclude that assisting in an Indiana methamphetamine investigation might result in favorable treatment in the pending Illinois criminal matter. We cannot conclude that the informant’s statements were sufficiently against his penal interests to establish his credibility.

[31] In the absence of proof of the informant’s credibility or corroboration under the totality of the circumstances, the informant’s hearsay statements were insufficient to establish probable cause, and the trial court should not have issued the search warrant. See Hayworth, 904 N.E.2d at 697 (affidavit did not establish probable cause for a search warrant where informant’s claims were uncorroborated).

[32] Nevertheless, lack of probable cause does not automatically require the suppression of evidence obtained during a search. Id. ….

. . .

[35] Detective Fortune testified at the suppression hearing that he withheld the fact of the informant’s incarceration not out of any intent to mislead, but rather out of concern that the information would reveal the informant’s identity and place him in danger. In any event, we conclude that the good faith exception is inapplicable here because Detective Fortune’s affidavit is so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render an official belief in the existence of the warrant unreasonable. The informant gave Detective Fortune information that was at least three to four months old. The officers corroborated only facts that were readily available to the general public, i.e., observing an RV parked at the home. They did not attempt to confirm the informant’s claim of an ongoing methamphetamine dealing operation by placing surveillance on Cartwright’s property. In addition, Detective Fortune also relied on his stale four-year-old prior observation of Cartwright’s home, which had been rebuffed by the prosecutor for lack of probable cause. The officers’ reliance on a warrant issued on essentially uncorroborated hearsay from an anonymous informant was objectively unreasonable. See Jaggers, 687 N.E.2d at 186.

[36] In the absence of probable cause justifying a search warrant, the officers’ search of Cartwright’s home violated his federal and state constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Consequently, the trial court abused its discretion in admitting evidence obtained as a result of the search. See id.; see also Dolliver v. State, 598 N.E.2d 525, 529 (Ind. 1992) (search warrant unsupported by probable cause where police did not independently corroborate informant’s statements, so the subsequent search violated defendant’s federal and state constitutional rights and the evidence was inadmissible). The erroneously admitted evidence includes Cartwright’s incriminating statements in the police car and the transcript of his post-arrest questioning at the jail, because the statements were the fruit of his arrest, and being informed of his Miranda rights prior to confessing in the police car and at the jail did not purge the taint of the unconstitutional search. See, e.g. Clark v. State, 994 N.E.2d 252, 271 (Ind. 2013) (defendant’s confession to possession of marijuana was not admissible where it was not an act of free will and did not purge the taint of unlawful detention).