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UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Roland ASSELIN, Defendant, Appellant

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit1985-10-25No. No. 84-2054
775 F.2d 445

Summary

Holding. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, holding that the magistrate properly found probable cause for the warrant based on a reliable informant with a documented track record and firsthand knowledge of defendant's activities, and that the officers' search of the surrounding curtilage remained within the warrant's scope or alternatively fell within the open fields doctrine.

Roland Asselin was convicted of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute after officers executing a search warrant found cocaine and currency at his trailer home in Rhode Island. On appeal, Asselin challenged the probable cause supporting the warrant, argued the officers exceeded its scope, and disputed the sufficiency of evidence. The court rejected all contentions, finding that the warrant was properly issued based on reliable informant information establishing probable cause and that the scope of the search, which extended to areas surrounding the trailer including a disabled car and a birdhouse, was consistent with the warrant's designation of the premises and curtilage.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Sufficiency of probable cause based on multi-level hearsay from an informant
  • Reliability of informant information under Fourth Amendment standards
  • Scope of search warrant as applied to curtilage and surrounding property
  • Good faith exception to warrant requirements

Procedural posture

Defendant appealed his conviction for drug possession with intent to distribute, challenging the validity of the search warrant and the sufficiency of evidence at trial.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

BAILEY ALDRICH, Senior Circuit Judge.

Defendant Asselin, who was amply shown to be the resident of a trailer home on Rowland Drive, West Greenwich, Rhode Island, was convicted on a one count indictment of possessing in excess of 12 ounces of a controlled substance, cocaine, with intent to distribute. 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). On this appeal he challenges the sufficiency of probable cause to issue the warrant under which the cocaine and a large sum of money were seized, as well as asserting that the officers exceeded the warrant’s scope. He further disputes the sufficiency of the evidence. We find no merit in any contention.

Briefly, a qualified attesting special agent stated that a local police officer, long known to the agent as reliable, had told him that an informant, well known to the officer as reliable, and “who has given information in the past which has led to several seizures of narcotics which resulted in convictions [and whose] information has never been found to be false,” had told the officer that he had been inside defendant’s trailer within the week and had seen a large amount of cocaine and a large amount of United States currency therein, and that defendant was a large scale cocaine dealer, who was selling cocaine at the kilogram level. The local police officer further informed the special agent that defendant had a reputation with the police of being a major dealer. Defendant asserts this was “totem pole hearsay.”

So be it. There is no objection to hearsay, if the informant is shown to be reliable and there is a disclosed, reliable, basis for his information. Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 114, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 1514, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964); Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 269, 80 S.Ct. 725, 735, 4 L.Ed.2d 697 (1960). In fact, defendant admits in his brief that “[h]earsay will support a finding of probable cause” if the informant is found to be credible and the basis of his information reliable. In this case, the affidavit included sufficient information to support both of these findings. This included the fact that the informant had been providing information to the police department on a continuing basis, that the information had never been found to be false, and that it had led to several seizures of narcotics in the past. Further, the informant had demonstrated personal, firsthand knowledge of the defendant’s activities in this case and the defendant was previously known to the police department as a major dealer. From these facts, the magistrate could find the informant reliable, and his account first hand and specific. On that basis, probable cause was clear. Cf. Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 416, 89 S.Ct. 584, 589, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969).

As to scope, the warrant designated “the premises known as a single family trailer ... with attached carport occupied by Roland Asselin ... including a 1977 Ford LTD color silver located on said property ... [to search for] cocaine, U.S. currency and records____” The officers testified at the suppression hearing that they interpreted “premises” as including the surroundings. They, accordingly, included in their search a disabled Cadillac, parked adjacent to the carport, and a birdhouse hanging from a tree about 15 from the trailer steps. The birdhouse attracted their attention because the ingress had been blocked off, lock-outs being uncommon in aviary circles. $30,000 was found in the disabled car engine, and over a pound of cocaine in the birdhouse.

In denying the motion to suppress, the court stated that defendant was in a no-win position, the items being either within what lawyers term the curtilage, reasonably understood to be within the warrant, United States v. Principe, 499 F.2d 1135 (1st Cir.1974) (outside cabinet “appurtenant” to apartment is within the premises); United States v. Napoli, 530 F.2d 1198 (5th Cir.1976) (car parked in driveway included in “premises”); or in an open field, requiring no warrant. Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170, 104 S.Ct. 1735, 1742, 80 L.Ed.2d 214 (1984). At the very least, the officers could be found to be acting in good faith. Cf. United States v. Leon, — U.S. -, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 3419-20, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984). Having in mind defendant’s burdens, both with respect to the magistrate, Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 236, 238-39, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2331, 2332-33, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983), and the officers, United States v. Leon, ante, the motion to suppress was correctly denied.

So was the motion to acquit. We have examined defendant’s other objections, but find them of no significance.

Affirmed.