S.D.W.Va.: Independent source of warrant separate from illegal entry made evidence admissible

Officers seized defendant’s luggage out of his hotel room but didn’t open it until a search warrant was produced. Another officer left to get the warrant before the entry occurred. Nothing in the warrant application mentioned the entry, and the independent source doctrine of Murray makes it admissible. United States v. Manuel, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2704 (S.D. W.Va. January 10, 2012)*:

Assuming that is when the officers reentered the room and began the search, it had absolutely no role in Corporal Hunter applying for and receiving the warrant. The warrant he obtained was completely and genuinely independent of anything produced by illegal search conducted by the officers at the scene after he left. Thus, any evidence seized prior to the time Corporal Hunter phoned to tell officers at the scene that he had the warrant, including the luggage and its contents, would have been inevitably discovered when officers searched pursuant to the warrant. Although the Court is not pleased with the manner in which this search may have occurred and cautions officers that in future cases the independent source doctrine may not be so clear cut, the Court finds the facts of this case fall within the doctrine and the evidence ultimately would have been discovered after the warrant was issued. Therefore, the Court finds the evidence taken from the hotel room is admissible.