Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Police enter my home without warrant or permission.

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ananas238

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On the evening of Thursday, January 7, 2010, at about 5:00pm – I, Alex, was resting on my couch watching the golf channel at my Botanica Apartment located at 101 Saint Anne Dr. Apt. *censored*, Mandeville, La 70471. I was enjoying my day off work, minding my own business. My peace and tranquility was soon disturbed, as two young men came to my door and began knocking rather loudly. I wasn't expecting any guests, and none of my friends had called me to come over. I walked to the door and looked out the peephole, noticing two young white males whom I did not recognize and whom I have never met before in my life. To this day I do not know their names. They were making strange threats through the door, and kept saying things like "you know why we're here" and "you better let us in or else, threat, threat, threat…" Fearing they may be at my house to rob me or start some kind of strange house invasion, and thinking they may have weapons I grabbed my cell phone and dialed 911.

At exactly the same time I was speaking to the emergency dispatcher and explaining my strange situation, I heard a small rap on my back door. I walked to my back door and lifted the blinds to see who it was. I recognized a short female whom I have seen several times before in my apartment complex – she was my neighbor from across the hall, Jennifer. I opened the back door and asked her what she needed. She told me, "I called the police." I told her that I, too, was on the phone with the police and they would be here soon. Jennifer's front door is about 8 feet away from my front door, so obviously the extremely loud knocking and kicking on my door by these two young individuals had attracted the attention of my neighbor, Jennifer, at the very least.

Standing away from my front door, in case these young men were to try firing a gun through the door, I stayed on the phone with the emergency dispatcher until the police arrived at my complex. It took about 3 minutes. When I noticed police coming through the entrance gate I finally walked to the front door and looked out the peephole again. The two young men were talking to one another. I spoke through my door to them saying, "Hey, I don't know who you are, but the police are here for you." I noticed them bolt in the direction of an upstairs stairway and then they quickly disappeared.

I lit a cigarette and stood in my foyer, awaiting a knock from a Mandeville Policeman. Finally, an officer knocked on my door and stated "Mandeville Police." I opened the door and let him come inside my foyer. Still smoking the cigarette, I answered some simple questions for the officer. I told him there was no one else in the house, I showed him my I.D. card, and finally explained to him why I called the police. I asked him if they found the two young men, and he said yes – they found them upstairs. The officer ran my I.D. through his radio to his dispatcher. After this, and after the policeman was satisfied that there were no other people in my apartment, I opened my front door and asked the officer to please step outside to my porch. He said, "make me." I found this very scary. I couldn't understand why this policeman was being so rude to me. He also mumbled something to the effect of, "I don't believe a word you say or a word 'they' say either." I felt that my emergency situation was taking place now outside my apartment, so I felt it important for me and the officer to exit my apartment and locate these two young men. After another minute of what seemed as a very awkward standoff with officer G.S., he appeased and said "follow me upstairs". I locked my front door behind me and put the keys in my left jeans pocket.

I followed officer G.S. upstairs where his squad had found the two young men inside the apartment of Mona and Taylor (don't know last name) at apartment *censored*. Upon entering the apartment, I noticed the two young men in handcuffs. I confirmed they were the two causing all the noise and making threats. The two young men then pleaded with me saying, "Sir, we don't know who you are, we are looking for a person named Scott that owes us $200.00." I said I didn't know who they were talking about and that no one named Scott had been to my apartment that day. It seemed very strange that they were looking for someone named Scott at my apartment. I could only think in the back of my mind that these young men were misinformed or were just following out a huge misunderstanding. They continued to assure me that this was a huge mistake and they would not return to my porch banging on the door now that this was cleared up. I was very upset about the commotion they had caused not only to me, but to my neighbor, and now several other neighbors were emerging from their porches to watch the myriad of police. I decided not to press charges. I've been to jail before and I didn't think this situation warranted them to go to jail. I just wanted them to leave now that they knew I was not Scott and I was not the person they were looking for. And further, the person they were looking for was not at my apartment.

Officer G.S. told me to write on a tablature and sign it saying I was not going to press charges. I did this. Then, I lit a cigarette and walked over to my neighbor Jennifer and her husband who were now about 8 feet to the left of my front porch. I told them that this was all a giant misunderstanding and that the kids would leave and not come back to cause more damage or noise. I told them I did not press charges. At that exact moment, I was called over to my own porch by officer G.S. I walked the 8 feet back to my porch and he said, "Okay, they aren't going to jail – but you are." A female cop then placed me in handcuffs. I asked why I was being arrested. Officer G.S. said that I had a failure to appear in court from 2006, and they were now exercising the bench warrant to arrest me for it. I said the warrant was bogus, but it didn't matter. This showed up on their computer and these cops had to arrest me. After being placed in handcuffs, an officer began to pat me down for weapons. He/she looked first in my right pocket, taking out my cell phone. Next, he/she proceeded to my left pocket, removing my keys to my car and apartment. A new officer, officer J.R. asked me if I had any illegal weapons or contraband in my apartment. My EXACT words to him were very clear, as I did not want to be misunderstood by him, by any other cop and possibly so my neighbors could hear me – I said, "Sir, I do not consent to searches." He said okay, then, proceeded to open my front door using my keys – completely against my will. Now six policemen entered my foyer without my permission, and all started saying they smelled marijuana. Again, officer J.R. asked me where the drugs were – that he could smell pot. I remained silent. At that moment, a different policeman mentioned to officer J.R. that I was under duress. Officer J.R. then said, "Okay don't let him tell us anything, we'll try to get a search warrant." Some random cop read me my Miranda rights, then I was pulled back outside to the porch. I remained outside my apartment while at least 6 officers remained in my foyer. After about 2 minutes, a cop led me into my own foyer to show me something. Original officer G.S. was now in my bedroom with a flashlight shining at a small marijuana pipe. He said the pipe plus the smell was going to get them a search warrant. I remained silent. At the same moment, a female cop walked toward my sister's room which is not visible at all from the foyer. She came back to the entourage of police just moments later, asking another officer to "come see this." Apparently she was searching my sister's bedroom. Again, this is long before they had a search warrant.

After a couple more minutes of watching the police walk around my apartment, they led me back outside to my front porch. My mother had arrived. She watched me exit my apartment, flanked by police as they were taking me to a patrol car. I spoke to her rapidly as I knew time was limited. I told her that these police entered my apartment without my permission, and that they stole the keys from my pocket and I had given them absolutely no consent. I told her I had a failure to appear warrant from 2006, to which she sighed because she knew it must be bogus, and she watched me be escorted to the patrol car – barefoot and in a t-shirt on a freezing night. Jennifer and her husband witnessed me being put into cuffs and saw the keys removed from my pocket.

I was taken to Mandeville Police Department. They put me in the cell and closed the door. I immediately laid down on a bed and went to sleep. My sleep was interrupted twice by police. First, one cop came in to show me the failure to appear warrant from 2006. I tried to grab the document from him, but he wouldn't let me have it. Next, a different policeman entered my cell and issued me the search warrant - evidently they did get the warrant signed by a judge. I went back to sleep. I woke up several hours later, and heard my sister through the door. Evidently the police had arrested my sister.

Not long after she was arrested and placed in her cell, I was asked by police to come out the cell and follow them in to another room. Officer J.R. read me my charges and told me that he found lots of drugs in my apartment. He asked me if I wanted to rat out anyone and tried to scare me saying I might not get a bond, or it would be well over $500,000.00. The only thing I told him was anything he found in the apartment was mine, and I didn't know why he arrested my sister – she was an innocent guest in my home. He told me, "F you, I don't believe you. I'm going to charge your sister with the same charges." Then, he placed me back in the holding cell where I returned to sleep.

Finally, at or near 5am, they escorted me and my sister to St. Tammany Parish Jail in Covington. While waiting to be booked in the squirrel cage, I noticed my father entering through the sally port. Evidently, they had arrested my father – for what, I did not know. After sharing an adjacent squirrel cage he told me why he was arrested. I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and completely terrorized by my local law enforcement.

Luckily, arraignment was the next morning. My sister got a $30,000.00 bond, my father a $75.00 signature bond and I got a $101,500.00 bond that was raised 4 days later to $103,331.00. My sister and father got out of jail that Friday, one day after entering the jail. I remained in the can until Monday, hoping for a reduced bond – though it was only raised. I posted bail around 7pm Monday night, after spending 5 days in the cement holding cell.

What sort of case do I have against the police? What are my chances of suppressing the evidence? Were the police in fault of anything?
 
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Well that could have been MUCH shorter.

Your arrest for the warrant was most likely legitimate. Everything that happened after that, assuming your version is exactly how things went down, will lead to the suppression of anything found in the apartment. You can probably also make a reasonable civil claim against the police department.

You need to speak with an attorney.
 
Sorry for the length. I see other peoples' posts that are too vague and have holes in them. Also, this narrative is for my attorney - I wanted everything stated. My sister and father's case bleed into mine, thus the explanation of their involvements. Anyway, THANK YOU for your reply. I have a pretty good attorney. He said I have a strong case for suppression of evidence, the best of 12 judges, and grounds for a 1983 Civil Liberties suit. Any comments on that?
 
Also, this narrative is the absolute truth. I have yet to receive the police reports/discovery. I don't know how at least a dozen police are going to try and cover their asses. The 911 calls, the dispatch tapes and possibly video surveillance should create a sufficient timeline to show that there were in fact TWO (2) entries by police. The first that made contact with me, then the second which had to use my keys to enter.

My attorney believes the police will lie in these areas: 1. They will say there was only one entry by police - at which time they smelled marijuana and noticed in plain site a glass pipe. 2. They will say I gave them permission to re-enter. I have 2 witnesses (neighbors) that heard me say I don't consent to searches, and the six or more police flanking me heard me (police will corroborate a lie, though). 3. They saw in plain site the glass pipe through a window (impossible, very far fetched). I can't think of any more specific things, but you get my drift here. They will cover their ass at any point where it was my word against theirs.

Here's some more questions I have. Suppose one of my upstairs neighbors said something to a policeman, or worse, made a statement claiming that I was selling drugs. Are the police not obligated to take this statement, then get a warrant signed by a judge, THEN serve me the warrant and enter my home? Not the other way around, which is what happened. Are warrants retroactive? Can they enter my home without my permission, as they did, gain probable cause, as they did, AND THEN file for a search warrant from a judge? Which they did. I keep thinking over and over the incident and in every possible situation I can think of, the police would have needed a warrant to re-enter my home. PURELY HYPOTHETICAL ABOUT NEIGHBOR MAKING STATEMENT

Suppose they arrested me for this attachment at a bar. While I'm in cuffs, tell me they can legally take my keys out my pocket, drive to my house, open my door without my permission and search...?
 
No, they can not do it as you have described... not legally anyway.
Even if the officer had remained in the residence on the first entry and had discovered a pipe in plain view, he would still need to obtain a warrant to proceed with a search of the rest of the residence and would have to articulate his reason to believe that additional contraband would be found.
If what you say is true then you have a strong case, and your 4th Amendment rights were certainly violated. You may receive settlement offers at some point that will drop the charges against you in hopes that you will go away, but if these officers really did this then you should stick it to them... no telling how many other people they have done it to.
 
Has your case evolved at all?
That was pretty long.You must have been in shock when they started parading your family members into the cells.

Police are ALWAYS violating the 4th amendment ,then lie about it.

I guess they justify their conscious by thinking "he broke the law"

History proves to the cops that most people end up not challenging them
in court,so they feel they can bend the law in cases like these and many others. My personal opinion is that you need to gather all the ammunition you can.
Statements from anyone who seen/heard what happen.
They may not want to testify later...Or may move/disapear.
Any tapes from cameras, get b4 they get erased over.

The partys over. Your on the radar now so make sure you dont caught doing anything shady.



,
 
Yeah well today I was detained because my brother was involved in a hit and run, so these cops come banging on my door and put me in cuffs and tell me to explain what happened because they assume I was with him and/or I knew about the situation. They went through my house with no warrent, went through my rooms and cuboards. 4 cops jumped on me even though I wasnt resisting arrest.... They had no evidence, No warrents on me and invaded my privacy, and made up some story saying witnesses saw me in the passenger seat, then at the station they claim, now I was in the driver seat. On the way there they said they had a DNA sample of me in the vehicle, and I never stepped foot in that jeep once in my life.....!!! Now hows that for unfair, I told them all I was gonna sue them hard, they refused to give me a report, any badge numbers or anything and finally ended up giving me a ride home...But this isnt over....!!!!
 
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Yeah well today I was detained because my brother was involved in a hit and run, so these cops come banging on my door and put me in cuffs and tell me to explain what happened because they assume I was with him and/or I knew about the situation. They went through my house with no warrent, went through my rooms and cuboards. 4 cops jumped on me even though I wasnt resisting arrest.... They had no evidence, No warrents on me and invaded my privacy, and made up some story saying witnesses saw me in the passenger seat, then at the station they claim, now I was in the driver seat. On the way there they said they had a DNA sample of me in the vehicle, and I never stepped foot in that jeep once in my life.....!!! Now hows that for unfair, I told them all I was gonna sue them hard, they refused to give me a report, any badge numbers or anything and finally ended up giving me a ride home...But this isnt over....!!!!


You seem to have very bad luck with the local constabulary.

You might want to relocate to another town where you are unknown to authorities.

Once they get a bead on you, they keep tracking and watching you!!!
 
You should have started a new thread for this.... but then again, you never really asked any questions either.

Yeah well today I was detained because my brother was involved in a hit and run, so these cops come banging on my door and put me in cuffs and tell me to explain what happened because they assume I was with him and/or I knew about the situation.

This isn't necessarily wrong if they had reason to believe you may have been involved, and if they got to your residence within a reasonable time after the accident occurred. Warrants are necessary for every situation, so the circumstances really dictate what is right or wrong at the time.

They went through my house with no warrent, went through my rooms and cuboards.

Again the circumstances are an issue here- if they had reason to believe you were involved or the driver of the vehicle was inside, and this all developed rather quickly after the accident. It is also very possible that you allowed them into your home in a manner that did not require a search warrant... you may not believe that you did... but it is very possible. Regardless, they should have been limited to looking for the people involved, not searching through your cabinets and such... so that is an issue.

4 cops jumped on me even though I wasnt resisting arrest....

If you believe you were physically abused there is a process to follow for that... but if you were non-compliant, though not actually "resisting" they may have been justified.

They had no evidence, No warrents on me and invaded my privacy, and made up some story saying witnesses saw me in the passenger seat, then at the station they claim, now I was in the driver seat.

Again, warrants were necessarily required. A violation of 4th Amendment rights is possible, but there are many details missing from your account that make it impossible to determine... although the issue of searching through cupboards seems significant. However, they didn't find anything to use against you, so you would have difficulty making the claim, or rather, proving that it happened. No surprise that they were switching stories on you- they were probing for inconsistencies in your own statements. People often get caught in lies when police alter the facts that way. police are allowed to lie to you... they are fishing for information.

On the way there they said they had a DNA sample of me in the vehicle, and I never stepped foot in that jeep once in my life.....!!! Now hows that for unfair, I told them all I was gonna sue them hard, they refused to give me a report, any badge numbers or anything and finally ended up giving me a ride home...But this isnt over....!!!!

The DNA claim is bogus... they are just trying to make you talk. It would take weeks if not longer to get DNA information, and they would have to get a sample from you to match it to first. Even fingerprints take more time to match up.

All things considered, it seems there is likely more to this story that would explain why they came in the way they did. There was no report to give at the time that it happened because it had not been written yet. After a week or two you should be able to obtain a copy from the records department. They should be able to locate it just by your name, address, and date of birth. if you recontact the agency and politely ask in the right places you should be able to get the case number for the hit and run, and possibly an additional one regarding the incident at your house and subsequent questioning.

It would help for you to obtain these reports before seeking legal counsel... that way you know exactly what you are up against, and the lawyer you speak with can have both sides of the story when giving the initial consult.
 
Hey "mightymoose". I should have mentioned that when I went upstairs I heard my brother trying to sneak out the back, So i went and grabbed him yelling "Where the heck(****) You think your going". The cops told us both to put our hands behind our backs (just outside our back door) and I was like "WTH, what did I do?" He sais, your being detained for a "hit and run", and claimed I started telling the truth right away about what happened yadda yadda yadda...
I started freaking out like theres no tomorow saying how much of BS this all is, even though they had us in custody they still decided to go snooping around my place...And it's my dads house, he wasn't even home at the time. I feel wronged, they had no proof and no need to treat me in such a manner, nore any need to go through my stuff, it was invasion of my privacy, they had their suspect....Im gonna sue the district or the city, theres gotta be a judge out there who would understand my situation.... I was up all day working and ready for bed and had to go through all this drama, I want justice, this is it, those knuckle heads went to far this time. I was in the right......I don't pay my tax's and stay out of crime too accept to be treated like this...

Wouldn't you guy's stand up for this conumdrum?
 
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If they contacted you at the door, and it was open, the only reason I can think of that they might have gone inside is to attempt to locate anyone else that might have been present and involved. The circumstances at the time dictate how much they can do... but no, they should not have been searching any more than just checking for people in places that people are likely to be found.
It sounds as if they police were in some stage of a pursuit and the warrant was not necessarily required... FOR ARREST.
If you feel you rights were violated and they went too far, make a formal written report to the internal affairs office of the agency. Do your best to get a copy of any reports they wrote regarding the incident and take them with you if you seek legal counsel.

It does not appear that your being detained was necessarily wrong... it is the scope of their subsequent search that might be an issue... but then again they didn't find anything that they are using against you... so it comes down to being your word against theirs.

As the victim in the matter, how do you expect this wrong to be made right?
 
I have received the police reports and gone over them with my lawyer. I don't want to speak about them on this forum at this time.

I have a pre-trial conference for my case on July 2, 2010. The judge and my lawyer, plus prosecuting lawyer(s), and even police from the incident will be together in a forum. My lawyer is hopeful that all matters will end after this conference. This is a linchpin case that will affect my father's and sister's case directly. Please pray for us. We are all very hard working members of our community.
 
The officer phoned my father today and told him..... "the only reason why they took me in, is because i came "running" out of the house" (see changing their story..again...) My Father explained how I never lie, and dont do stuff like that and work hard helping people in life.... and if it happened to him he would sue their asses for every penny they have, ...Apparently the officer was speechless.... didnt even say a word about it after....

I want to set a lawsuit against them...they where like commen thugs the way they treated me....if anyone else did it, they would have been charged and thrown in jail...but nooo...just because they have a little piece a metal saying Police Officer they can get away with that!!!??? I want some justice.... You all imagine yourself sitting at home enjoying the time, after working all day...your ready for bed, then all of a sudden these people start banging on your house.... put you in cuffs and take you down to the station for absolutley no reason at all to your knowledge of what happened and where....when etc... It's just not fair......I landscape for millionairs, working damn hard for society... and see these punks, as dirty pigs with no lives....treating people like that...just because of the way I look..... Long hair hippy like,..... just HorseSh*t. They where in the wrong...Period.....

I appologise ananas, Wish your family much luck!
 
Court was today 1/31/11 for pre-trial / admittance of evidence.

This is maybe the 5th or 4th continuation of my pre-trial. Today, 1/31/11, one year and one month after my original arrest, we actually had the pre-trial. My motion to suppress evidence has been granted. The DA is, of course, going to appeal the decision of my judge. Technically, this isn't over yet, but there isn't much of a chance that another judge will appeal the ruling I received today. (Excellent news for me).

The judge was finished listening after he heard from just two of the police officers (conflicting testimony), and after not listening to any of my witnesses. In addition, after the ruling, the DA argued with the judge saying that I was a drug dealer and that I even looked like a drug dealer. Mind you I appeared in court today with full suit, tie, and a clean shave. I have no tattoos or piercings. I find it strange that she is paid to deliver theatrics to the judge at the end of losing her cases. Also, my lawyer asked that an attachment be issued for one of the police officers that was subpoenaed, but failed to appear. An attachment was issued. What a day to be a civilian.
 
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