GA: Completely uncontrolled “controlled buy” is no PC

The CI’s “controlled buy” wasn’t controlled at all, and there was no way to credit what the CI said about the defendant. The police saw nothing corroborative. Chatham v. State, 323 Ga. App. 51, 746 S.E.2d 605 (2013):

The state cites Brown v. State for the principle that “[a] controlled buy strongly corroborate[s] the reliability of the informant.” Indeed, this court has held that a “controlled buy conducted under the observation of the [law enforcement] officer” can, by itself, provide probable cause, and that controlled buys that are actually observed by the police can supply probable cause. But in the instant case, there was no evidence that the police in fact controlled or observed the purported buy, or observed the CI’s conduct immediately before or immediately after the purported buy. In light of the lack of information regarding the CI’s veracity, reliability and the basis of his knowledge, the magistrate did not have a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed to issue the search warrant. Thus, the trial court erred by denying Chatham’s motion to suppress.