Search & Seizure – Warrant Affidavit – Sufficiency – Good-Faith Exception

A Richmond U.S. District Court denies a motion to suppress evidence found in a residence, pursuant to a search that defendant contends was illegal because the affidavit supporting the search warrant did not establish probable cause and was so lacking in indicia of probable cause that no trained law enforcement officer could reasonably rely on its validity.

The affidavit described the target leaving the Duke Street residence, engaging in a controlled drug transaction and immediately reentering the residence with marked government money. Recognizing that the nexus between the place to be searched and the items to be seized may be established by the nature of the item and the normal inferences of where one would likely keep such evidence, this court finds the affidavit facially sufficient to allow a trained police officer to reasonably believe that probable cause existed and that reliance on the warrant was objectively reasonable. Having found that the good faith exception applies, the court need not make an independent determination of probable cause.

Motion too suppress denied.

U.S. v. Grant (Hudson, J.) No. 3:09cr362, Dec. 16, 2009; USDC at Richmond, Va. VLW 010-3-011, 6 pp.