E.D.Pa.: Def’s car could have been searched under auto. exception but police got a SW and took 8 days to search; not unreasonable under the circumstances

Defendant’s car was seized with probable cause for involvement in a series of bank robberies, and it could have been searched without a warrant under the automobile exception. The police got a search warrant instead and took eight days to search it. This delay was not unreasonable considering the police were investigating a series of bank robberies. United States v. Pleasant, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181393 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 1, 2017):

In that regard, authorities here were investigating an ongoing series of bank robberies, supporting an inference that the defendant would likely still possess the handgun displayed at the various banks or other instrumentalities it used to carry out the crimes. Once again, the record shows that such an inference is supportable, because the FBI did in fact recover the firearm, bags, and masks that appear to have been used by the robbers. Finally, it bears emphasis that ultimately the search was conducted pursuant to a warrant that was based upon a detailed affidavit of probable cause. The agents performing the search were entitled to rely on the presumed validity of the warrant. United States v. Williams, 3 F.3d 69 (3d Cir. 1993). For these reasons, the Motion to Suppress Physical Evidence will be denied.

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