busted...again...please help.

[headiez247]

If you get out of all this, change job titles.

Busted once = doing something wrong.

Busted twice = give up, move on, this ain't for you.

 

[Bionic]

The maintenance man smelled pot and called the cops. No warrant needed. They got one later to do a more thorough search. Just a technicality.

 

[igrowone]

The maintenance man smelled pot and called the cops. No warrant needed. They got one later to do a more thorough search. Just a technicality.

thought the issue here was the cops got permission from the landlord to enter
according to another poster, this is not legal, the renter must give his/her permission
that's what i read from the prior post anyways

 

[Possum]

thanks again everyone - especially kodiak

thanks again everyone - especially kodiak

thanks everyone for the support.

 

[lvclosetgrower]

Man thats ruff, if your a man you will have to face it and serve time. If not flee the fuckin state stay low key and start a new life. I would also consider dealing with the maitenance guy. Those are your only options peace and good luck

 

[Herbasaurus]

Listen to your lawyer. Deal with the charges. Get it behind you,

Then move to California - these cops have you on their list now - no sense hanging around.

PS
Stay clean until this is over and you are gone.

PPS
With all due respect to lvclosetgrower - do NOT flee - a warrant will be issued and go into the computers and come back to bite you when you least expect it, even in another state. Even getting a new identity is very tricky and also can unravel at the least opportune times.

 

[medmaker420]

I would follow what your legal adviser is telling you and not talk about it.

Not that it matters now BUT were you using any sort of odor control at all? Was it the plants or you smoking that got noticed? Not to talk about your odor control but rather to help others NOT get into where you are currently at.

 

[IE2KS_KUSH]

Just mentioning this, but I "think" that cops can get something called a "phone warrant", or "electronic warrant", just throwing that out there, I know some were questioning the OP as to "the cops called in..." that may have been why. I just can't remember if I heard about this in reference to "vehicle" incidents or "home" stuff.
My heart goes out to ya good luck.

 

[dtfsux]

Good luck.

 

[Amstel Light]

Listen to your lawyer. Deal with the charges. Get it behind you,

Then move to California - these cops have you on their list now - no sense hanging around.

PS
Stay clean until this is over and you are gone.

PPS
With all due respect to lvclosetgrower - do NOT flee - a warrant will be issued and go into the computers and come back to bite you when you least expect it, even in another state. Even getting a new identity is very tricky and also can unravel at the least opportune times.

thats good advice there^^^remember anticipation of death is worse than death itself...

Yessir.

Usually in the lease, you sign something that pertains to not using the apt, for illegal activity.

true^most leases have this clause in it....but it really does not matter if the maint. man said he smelled it....it's all the cop needed for probable cause even if he did not smell it he could lie and say he did...why did you even open the door?

 

[Possum]

I didn't open the door.

they didn't knock and didn't announce.

they just opened the door and walked in.

and didn't get a warrent until after i was in custody.

 

[kmk420kali]

I didn't open the door.

they didn't knock and didn't announce.

they just opened the door and walked in.

and didn't get a warrent until after i was in custody.

My guess is, that since they could smell the weed from outside your door, that that constituted a "Crime in progress"...so they did not need a Warrant to enter...same as Domestic Violence Cases--

 

[Strainhunter]

the lawyer says that apt. manager cannot allow the authorities to enter.

but he also said im not allowed to talk about the case.

........

Dude...you keep on talking about your case....

 

[igrowone]

My guess is, that since they could smell the weed from outside your door, that that constituted a "Crime in progress"...so they did not need a Warrant to enter...same as Domestic Violence Cases--

wasn't really made clear whether the police smelled it
maintainance guy was the original 'source'
but if it was just maintainance guy, i'd really like to know how he's an 'expert' in weed smell detection, police seem to get a benefit of doubt here, provided they said 'they smelled weed'

 

[kmk420kali]

wasn't really made clear whether the police smelled it
maintainance guy was the original 'source'
but if it was just maintainance guy, i'd really like to know how he's an 'expert' in weed smell detection, police seem to get a benefit of doubt here, provided they said 'they smelled weed'

Yeah, the Maint Guy seems kinda fishy-- You really need to talk to a Lawyer about this...so they can access Police Reports and shit--

 

[lilbopep]

I didn't open the door.

they didn't knock and didn't announce.

they just opened the door and walked in.

and didn't get a warrant until after i was in custody.

From my experience their warrant will never stand up in court. I had a similar issue happen to a friend of mine and the charges were eventually dropped after they held him for a few days and battered him with questions about his friends family other dealers / growers and so on. He simply said "fuck you I want my lawyer". It was priceless hearing the judge read that aloud in the court room.

PS - I would leave out the "fuck you" part from the above statement personally

 

[Kodiak]

Yeah, I guess that it's plausible that the cops can arrange for a warrant on the scene. If that is the case they can probably make a preliminary call before they move in and confirm it later on if their suspicions were correct. Perhaps that is the reason why they called it in after arresting you and also why you did not receieve the warrant until later on when it was put onto paper.

On the other hand, if that's not the case, the cops entered your house without a search warrant and thereby broke the law.

I did some reading and apparently there are very few occasions when the cops can enter someone's house without a search warrant, none of which seem to apply here. Probable cause only provides the legal grounds for the warrant but it does not actually allow the cops to enter the house. It is only a prerequisite to the warrant. If all they needed was probable cause, they would never go through the trouble of getting a warrant in the first place. Constitutional rights are strictly guarded and that is why a search warrant is needed. It makes sure that the rights provided by the Fourth Amendment are not compromised.


"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."


Of all the things mentioned here, the home is the most highly protected. Cops can search both your person and your vehicle without a warrant but searching the home always requires the proper paper work. Probable cause can be established through hearsay but is of little use without a warrant.

The Supreme Court ruled some time ago that cops can enter a house without a search warrant in case of an emergency but this usually pertains to crimes of a violent nature, where lives are at stake. This is the "crime in progress" clause that provides one of the few exceptions to the law regarding searches and seizures.

Some things don't make any sense here. For example, if the cops really didn't need a search warrant to enter the house, why did they produce one later on. The only answer is that they infact needed a search warrant so the question remains whether or not the cops violated your constitutional rights.

As far as I can understand, if their first attempt towards getting a search warrant happened when they were already inside the house, their search was unreasonable, illegal and unconstitutional, which also means that none of the evidence should be admissable in court.

Best of luck Possums

 

[FirstTracks]

good luckk possum

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Yeah, I guess that it's plausible that the cops can arrange for a warrant on the scene. If that is the case they can probably make a preliminary call before they move in and confirm it later on if their suspicions were correct. Perhaps that is the reason why they called it in after arresting you and also why you did not receieve the warrant until later on when it was put onto paper.

How can a cop testify over the phone? Isn't there something about raising a right hand as part of the oath? Hard to verify that over the phone. I know it's just par for the course that such things will be "forgotten" but there's something wrong there.

Smelling weed isn't a legal reason to enter a house without a warrant. It is grounds to obtain warrant along with other probable cause, but it is not the same as the plain sight rule or the emergency rule where the premises can be entered without a warrant.

The OP was edited so Im kinda piecing together what happened from that. Apartment that a maintenance man went into unannounced, found plants, called popo, popo came in without warrant. Sound about right? There's definitely some legal questions in the legality of that and I hope your attorney does his job. Fight the case...the longer it drags out the better your results will be. Good luck man. And like someone else said it's time to find a new line of work. This probably isn't cut out for you.

 

[Kodiak]

My point was that perhaps the cops can call in a warrant without actually bringing it to the scene. As long as it is registered before they start the search, it still counts. Then they have to confirm it in order for the paper work to come through. I think that the whole probable cause thing is based on the notion that cops should act in good faith so their testimony is enough to get a warrant. Dunno, just guessing.

It does seem like none of the exceptions when cops can enter without a warrant fit this case. There was no consent nor was the evidence in plain view. The "hot pursuit" rule did not apply since he was not a wanted felon on the run and was also unaware of their intentions, so he had no chance to escape. He did not have the chance to destroy any evidence before the cops arrived because they let themselves in unannounced. Last, there was no real threat to public safety or property, so that leaves them with nothing as far as I can tell.

I don't think that it makes any difference if he broke the terms on his lease. If the landlord let them in it's still a violation of the Fourth Amendment because the cops always need a warrant in order to enter the house unless one of the exceptions to the rules apply.

The maintenance man smelled the weed and informed the cops. That gives them probable cause but if they didn't have a warrant when they entered the house, it's an unlawful seizure.

Entering unannounced also goes against police procedures. Most of the time they have to knock and identify themselves before entering the house because this gives the suspect the opportunity to consent to a search, which is basically another right that we have.

They can however enter unannounced if they suspect that evidence will otherwise be destroyed in the process but not without a proper warrant.