United States v. Reed, No. 18-1852 (8th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he pleaded guilty to possessing equipment having reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture a controlled substance. The court held that the district court did not err in finding that a glass beaker was in plain view on defendant's deck, and the officer's lawful search was not tainted by a prior officer's earlier illegal entry. The court also held that defendant was not entitled to a Franks hearing because he failed to show that an officer seeking the warrant omitted information in reckless disregard of the truth. Furthermore, the district court properly rejected defendant's argument that the officer falsely stated that the beaker was in plain view. Finally, the court held that, under the totality of circumstances, the warrant application had sufficient information to establish probable cause.
Court Description: Benton, Author, with Smith, Chief Judge, and Stras, Circuit Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law. An officer's discovery of a meth beaker in plain view on defendant's back deck was not tainted by another officer's earlier illegal entry as there was no evidence that the second officer had been told about the beaker or instructed to get it; the second officer was lawfully on defendant's back deck because the totality of the circumstances created a reasonable belief that defendant was home; in his challenge to a search warrant application, defendant was not entitled to a Franks hearing because he failed to show that the officer seeking the warrant omitted information in reckless disregard of the truth; warrant application was supported by probable cause to believe defendant was manufacturing meth at the home.
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