DE: Being an alleged heroin dealer is nexus to search the alleged dealer’s cell phone

When the state shows probable cause for a search warrant for defendant’s house because he was a suspected heroin dealer, there is also probable cause for a search of defendant’s cell phone because cell phones are used to arrange drug deals. State v. Albert, 2015 Del. Super. LEXIS 997 (Dec. 3, 2015):

Here, the affidavits stated facts sufficient to support a finding that Defendant and Wilson were involved in illegal heroin distribution, namely, the large amount of heroin found at the locations frequented by the pair. The affiant also stated that based on his training and experience he knew that people involved in illegal activity, drug trafficking in particular, used cell phones to facilitate and coordinate their crimes. These facts, viewed together, are sufficient to support an inference that Defendant used his cell phone to coordinate with Wilson.

As the District Court noted in Gholston, “a number of courts have found that an affidavit establishes probable cause to search a cell phone when it describes evidence of criminal activity involving multiple participants and includes the statement of a law enforcement officer, based on his training and experience, that cell phones are likely to contain evidence of communications and coordination among these multiple participants.” Considering the totality of the circumstances, the Court is satisfied that the facts alleged in the affidavits for both the first and second set of cell phones established a minimally sufficient nexus between the criminal activity and Defendant’s cell phones.