DC: Throwing backpack over a wall running from police is abandonment

The police gave chase to defendant, and he ran down an alley and threw his backpack over a wall into somebody else’s backyard. “In the present case, we assume without deciding that Mr. Kyle retained a subjective expectation of privacy in the backpack. We hold that throwing the backpack over a fence into someone else’s backyard while fleeing from the police precluded Mr. Kyle from retaining an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in the backpack. We note that Mr. Kyle does not dispute that his action in throwing the backpack over the fence was voluntary for purposes of this case.” Importantly, it wasn’t his backyard (suggesting that would change the result). United States v. Kyle, 2022 D.C. App. LEXIS 58 (Feb. 10, 2022).

There was no misleading statement in the affidavit for warrant. The controlled buy was off “D,” and defendant and “D” had the same phone number. That was a reasonable inference. The falsity that the CI said he saw the drugs three weeks earlier ended up in the affidavit as 96 hours earlier. That was negligent at worst. No Franks violation. United States v. Thomas, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23368 (D.Minn. Feb. 9, 2022).*