United States v. Church

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Nashville detectives went to Church’s home to serve him with a warrant for violating probation. Church arrived, carrying food. The detectives placed Church under arrest, agreed to allow him to enter the house and call his girlfriend, then accompanied Church inside with his consent. They stated that they smelled burnt marijuana. Church admitted that he had recently smoked marijuana and displayed a marijuana blunt. Church called his girlfriend, who arrived and told police that Church regularly smoked marijuana at the house. Detective Moseley left to prepare a search-warrant affidavit while Bowling stayed with Church. In his affidavit, Moseley recounted the detectives’ visit and conversations with Church and his girlfriend. The detectives executed a warrant for “controlled substances, [and] controlled substances paraphernalia” that afternoon. In a closet, they found 4.8 grams of marijuana and 8 dilaudid (hydromorphone) pills, plus a safe. Church refused to provide the code, so police used a prying ram to break in. The safe contained 800 dilaudid pills, a handgun, and ammunition. Church unsuccessfully sought to suppress the evidence, then pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute hydromorphone and to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 170 months’ imprisonment. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. The affidavit established probable cause and the police did not break open the safe capriciously: they had probable cause to believe there might be drugs inside. View "United States v. Church" on Justia Law