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IN: Officers entering wrong apartment with arrest warrant lacked Payton's reasonable belief suspect was there

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officers had an arrest warrant for one Hernandez, but they had only an anonymous tip where he would be found, and that was insufficient basis for an entry into defendant’s apartment, since an anonymous tip would not support a Terry stop either. Payton requires a “reasonable belief” that the suspect is home before an entry is permitted. The cases are divided whether that is “reasonable suspicion” or more, like just a little less than probable cause. This court does not have to decide which applies because the state cannot satisfy even the lowest standard of reasonable suspicion. The entry violated the Fourth Amendment and the Indiana Constitution, and the evidence of an unrelated crime is suppressed. Duran v. State, 2010 Ind...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 06, 2010 (boomark / email).