CA8: Affidavit only referred to CI as “reliable,” and the affiant could have said more but didn’t; PC on totality

The affidavit for a GPS warrant only referred to the CI as “reliable,” and the affiant could have said more but didn’t. Still, the officer did do things to try to corroborate without elaborating. On the totality, probable cause was shown. United States v. Lomas, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 11691 (8th Cir. June 27, 2016):

Giving the magistrate judge’s determination the required deference, we find that although a close call, there was sufficient information to support issuance of the warrant for a GPS tracking device. Ideally the affidavit would have provided more details about the informant than the fact that he or she was reliable—i.e., that this person had successfully provided information leading to the discovery of evidence in the past. The officer testified about the informant’s track record at the suppression hearing, but unfortunately did not include this information in the affidavit. However, we can infer by the designation of the informant as “reliable” that he or she had provided such information in the past. Additionally bolstering our conclusion is the fact that the CRI provided information to the officer in person, see United States v. Gabrio, 295 F.3d 880, 883 (8th Cir. 2002) (noting that in-person tips allow the affiant to assess informant’s veracity), and importantly, that the officer was able to independently corroborate the details about ownership of the two cars and Faulkner’s presence at the two residences. The corroborated information established that the CRI was providing accurate information about verifiable details, and the fact that those corroborated details were not about criminal activity does not subtract from the probable cause analysis. See United States v. Ketzeback, 358 F.3d 987, 992 (8th Cir. 2004) (“[I]ndependent corroboration of even innocuous facts makes it more likely an informant is telling the truth about incriminating ones, and corroboration of innocent behavior can provide the basis for establishing probable cause.”). Under the totality of the circumstances, we agree with the magistrate judge’s determination that probable cause existed to support the GPS tracking warrant.

This entry was posted in GPS / Tracking Data, Informant hearsay. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.