NC: IP address on pizza order led to PC for SW for def’s house as robber of driver

A Domino’s driver was robbed and hit with a baseball bat and knocked out. Police looked for possible robbers but found nobody. A “confidential source of information” (actually citizen informant who’s identity was withheld for protection against retaliation) said that two men ran to 217 Springer Drive and one was carrying a pizza delivery type bag. They went to the address, and the people answering the door didn’t match the description. They got the IP information for the pizza order, and it came back to 217 Springer, but it was an unsecured wireless connection. Nevertheless, they got a search warrant for that address based on that 23 hours after the robbery, and they found plenty of evidence that the occupants of that address were the robbers, including stuff taken from the driver and a baseball bat. “We hold that based on the totality of the circumstances, the affidavit provided a substantial basis for the reviewing magistrate to conclude that probable cause existed to justify issuing a search warrant for 217 Springer Drive. The affidavit contained sufficient facts demonstrating the reliability of the CSI’s information, most of which was previously and independently corroborated by HCSD’s own thorough investigation. Furthermore, the affidavit provided a detailed, chronological summary of HCSD’s rapidly unfolding investigation and established the urgent need to obtain a search warrant before critical evidence might be destroyed.” State v. McPhaul, 2017 N.C. App. LEXIS 924 (Nov. 7, 2017).

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