E.D.Mo.: Smell of a meth lab coming from defendant’s apartment discovered at a knock-and-talk was exigent circumstances for entry

Smell of a meth lab coming from defendant’s apartment discovered at a knock-and-talk was exigent circumstances for an entry. United States v. Reed, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136161 (E.D. Mo. August 14, 2012)*:

Here, the witness and both the testifying Officers smelled the strong ether-like chemical odor, and the fan in defendant’s bathroom window was blowing air into the corridor from which the odor emanated. The Officers tried the knock and talk approach discussed above; however, there was no response to the knocking at the front door, the light went off in the bathroom, people were heard talking inside the backdoor but there was still no response to the knocking and announcing “Police” or to the warning that if they did not open the door, the officers would kick it in. It is reasonable that an experienced officer such as Det. Burton would conclude that the residence contained a methamphetamine lab or methamphetamine manufacturing of some sort and that exigent circumstances were present. United States v. Lloyd, 396 F.3d 948, 954 (8th Cir. 2005). The forced entry was lawful under the totality of the circumstances.