United States v. Hodge, No. 12-1173 (6th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseLocal resident Banks told police that on a specified date, he witnessed manufacture of methamphetamine, firearms, and a bomb at Hodge’s home. He observed a person shaking “sports drink bottles that appeared to have a grayish, sandy, sludge in the bottom with liquid and pieces of black chunks floating on the top,” characteristic of a “one pot style methamphetamine cook.” Banks gave a detailed description of a pipe bomb. Hodge claimed it could “blow up the entire house,” showed Banks a firearm that he called an AK-47, and told Banks that, if confronted, he “would shoot every cop that he could.” Officers obtained a warrant and found a pipe bomb, marijuana, prescription drugs, drug paraphernalia, and a rifle. Indicted for possession of an unregistered destructive device, 26 U.S.C. 5861(d), and possession of a firearm while unlawfully using a controlled substance, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), Hodge moved to suppress, arguing that the warrant was not supported by probable cause and that statements he made alerting officers to the pipe bomb were obtained through custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings. The district court denied the motion. Hodge entered a conditional guilty plea. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. The questioning was permissible because officers had a reasonable belief based on articulable facts that they were in danger.
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