Defendant\u2019s house was under surveillance, and police followed car away, which they stopped 8-10 miles from defendant\u2019s house. After the stop, one person stopped was on a cell phone which an officer took away from him but did not look at the calls because he thought he needed a warrant. Officers then decided to secure the house while getting a search warrant. It was reasonable to believe that the occupants knew the police were around or even coming, so a warrantless entry into the property to secure it was reasonable under the circumstances. United States v. Lockett, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137266 (M.D. Ga. November 30, 2011):<\/p>\n
According to the officers, the decision to secure the residence was based on several factors: (1) they did not know who was in the residence; (2) concerns about preserving evidence; (3) preventing the destruction of evidence; (4) the amount of traffic coming in and out of the residence during the day; (5) the fact Wynn and Young were found with drugs; (6) suspicions that there were drugs at the residence; (7) the fact either Wynn or Young was on the cell phone while in the police vehicle, which led to a concern that Defendant was tipped off about the police activity; (8) the fact Defendant left the residence after the Nissan was stopped; and (9) the attention drawn by the Wynn and Young traffic stop.<\/p>\n
. . .<\/p>\n
The Court agrees with the Government that the officers had an objectively reasonable basis to believe that exigent circumstances existed which required their warrantless entry into Defendant’s residence. Wynn and Young, who were stopped after leaving Defendant’s residence, were found to be in possession of cocaine and marijuana. Wynn or Young spoke with someone on the telephone, and shortly thereafter Defendant and another male were seen talking on the telephone, going to the outbuilding, and leaving the premises. The officers could not see into the residence or the outbuilding, but knew there was at least one person still in the residence. The Court finds that based on the totality of the circumstances the officers could reasonably have determined that Defendant was aware of the surveillance and that evidence could have been destroyed during the time it took them to get a search warrant.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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