GA: Tracking stolen cell phone by its find phone app resulted in unlawful entry onto curtilage

Defendant is accused of robbery including stealing a cell phone which was tracked to his house by the find phone app. When police arrived, they found the vehicle described by the victim, and they entered the curtilage without a warrant. The trial court suppressed. “Simply stated, the police were not legally present on Davis’ driveway at the time he was detained. The officers were not authorized to enter the curtilage of Davis’ home for the purpose of initiating a second-tier encounter absent an exception to the warrant requirement. Accordingly, because all of the evidence against Davis was obtained as a result of an unlawful search and seizure, the trial court did not err in suppressing it.” State v. Davis, 2020 Ga. App. LEXIS 522 (Sept. 22, 2020).

Defendant wasn’t seized when the patrol car parked near him and the officer walked up. When the window came down, the smell of PCP wafted from the car to area surrounding it. That was reasonable suspicion for a detention. United States v. Brown, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 30243 (9th Cir. Sept. 22, 2020).*