MA: Nexus is probable cause, a substantial basis for concluding, not certainty

Nexus was shown to defendant’s house by witnesses saying defendant had a gun and fired it, and the car in front of his house was hit by a bullet. “The nexus between the items to be seized and the place to be search need not establish to a certainty that the items to be seized will be found in the location specified in the warrant, nor exclude any and all possibility that the items might be found elsewhere. Rather, the test is probable cause, not certainty. ‘The affidavit need not convince the magistrate beyond a reasonable doubt, but must provide a substantial basis for concluding that evidence connected to the crime will be found on the specified premises.’ Commonwealth v. Donahue, supra.” Commonwealth v. Thevenin, 82 Mass. App. Ct. 822, 978 N.E.2d 1215 (2012).*

The probable cause for defendant’s apartment was not stale because the affidavit in support referred to ongoing drug sales, and there was good faith. In the search a safe was seized, and information received at the time of the search separately supported the search warrant for the safe. United States v. Gibbs, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168586 (W.D. Pa. November 28, 2012).*