CA9: Officer’s peek into backpack seeing cocaine before getting SW didn’t taint the search; plenty of PC before the peek

Officer’s peek into backpack seeing cocaine before getting a search warrant for it didn’t taint the search. There was plenty of probable cause before the peek. “The agents disclosed in the warrant affidavit that they had looked inside the backpack after Guzman-Guerrero was apprehended and observed eight cellophane-wrapped bricks. But there was ample probable cause before the peek, and the district court properly found that the magistrate would have issued the warrant anyway. We agree that even when the information from the warrantless search is excised from the warrant affidavit, the remaining facts still establish probable cause. See Heckenkamp, 482 F.3d at 1149. [¶] The district court did not explicitly find that officers would have sought a warrant absent the initial search. We have previously remanded for such factfinding in similar situations. … But here, Guzman-Guerrero conceded—both in his briefing and at oral argument—that the officers would have sought a warrant even if they had not peeked into his backpack.” United States v. Guzman-Guerrero, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 25203 (9th Cir. Dec. 13, 2017).

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