Officer had probable cause to search for weapons at a farm house after gunshots were fired at young men hunting near defendant’s land. In the course of the investigation, the officer had heard that there might also be explosives in the premises, but he omitted any reference to what was essentially a rumor from the affidavit. The warrant, however, sought firearms and explosives. At the hearing, the officer explained the omission because he believed he lacked probable cause for explosives. It was clear from the totality of the evidence in the affidavit that, even if the officer included the omitted information, the issuing magistrate would have still signed off on the warrant because there was probable cause with or without it. United States v. Leeper, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87193 (D. Kan. November 29, 2006):<\/p>\n
Under the evidence presented, the court finds the agent did not attempt to mislead the Judge by including explosives among the items to be searched for. Moreover, the court finds the Judge was aware of this particular language in the warrant request. At any rate, whatever the reason for the inclusion of “explosives” among the items to be sought, the defendant has failed to show that any omission by the agent was material to the issuance of the warrant. In order for the fruits of a search to be suppressed, the omission must be “necessary to the finding of probable cause.” Franks,<\/em> 438 U.S. at 155. Even had the agent’s admittedly flimsy information about explosives been included in this affidavit, the Judge undoubtedly would have still determined there was probable cause to search the farmstead for firearms that were used in the shooting on November 5, 2005. And for the reasons set forth herein, the court concludes that the evidence challenged by the defendant was discovered lawfully within the scope of a search for firearms. Accordingly, the failure to include the agent’s information about explosives in the affidavit does not constitute a material omission.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Defendant’s actions while under surveillance in participating in hand-to-hand drug buy and carrying what was consistent with packaged heroin to his vehicle was reasonable suspicion. Discounting both that putting on the seatbelt might have been seen by the police as a furtive movement and his using a cellphone were innocuous, the hand-to-hand buy was enough for reasonable suspicion. United States v. Clark, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87055 (D. N.J. December 1, 2006).*<\/p>\n
Two controlled buys from the premises in the previous 96 hours is probable cause. The defendant failed in making a Franks<\/em> showing of undefined factual discrepancies, but the court suggests that the two buys eliminates a Franks<\/em> violation as a viable issue. United States v. Schwab, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87059 (S.D. Tex. December 1, 2006).*<\/p>\n
Officer pulling up in unmarked car with headlights pointing at occupants, with no blue lights on, evolved into a nonconsensual encounter with a “show of authority” in which the defendants were not free to leave, so motion to suppress is granted. United States v. Wright, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86975 (N.D. Fla. November 30, 2006):<\/p>\n
As a threshold matter, the court is unpersuaded by the government’s contention that the interaction between Coverdale and Wright constituted only a consensual encounter. It is true that Coverdale did not initiate a traffic stop or pull Wright’s vehicle over but rather simply approached Wright and Key as they sat in the parked car. In addition, Coverdale did not activate his siren or blue lights prior to approaching the vehicle, display his weapon, or use his vehicle to block the path of the Monte Carlo. Nevertheless, the court concludes that considering the totality of circumstances present on the evening in question, in making contact with Wright Coverdale exhibited a show of authority sufficient to make a reasonable person conclude that he was not free to leave.<\/p>\n
First, while Coverdale may have stopped his marked patrol car as far as twenty feet away from the Monte Carlo, parking the cruiser at an angle to Wright’s vehicle with the headlights still illuminated and directed at the Monte Carlo — rather than simply pulling into a parking place and extinguishing the lights — was a show of authority over the Monte Carlo’s occupants, even if a moderate one. In addition, however, almost simultaneously Coverdale brightly illuminated the Monte Carlo with his cruiser’s high intensity spot light. Taken together, these actions constituted a show of authority which would have been intimidating, at least to a degree, to a reasonable person. Furthermore, especially given that Wright was in the process of exiting the Monte Carlo under these conditions when Coverdale first spoke to him, a reasonable person would have felt compelled to comply with the directive to remain seated, even if Coverdale’s precise words and tone of voice were not overtly coercive. The belief that Wright was not free to leave would have been reinforced when, despite Wright’s immediate compliance with the directive to remain in the vehicle, Coverdale (who was wearing official attire which clearly identified him as a law enforcement officer) proceeded directly to the driver’s door and began questioning Wright about his driver’s license. Moreover, Coverdale testified that he preferred that Wright remain in the vehicle for officer safety reasons because “if he’s in the vehicle, he’s somewhat contained.” The evidence thus reflects that Coverdale intended to convey to Wright that his freedom of movement was restricted — and in effect he did convey that instruction. In short, considering the totality of the circumstances present on the evening in question, the court concludes that Coverdale exhibited a “show of authority” sufficient to make a reasonable person believe that he was not free to terminate the encounter. Therefore, the court finds that the encounter between Coverdale and Wright was not consensual in nature but rather amounted to an investigatory detention.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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