Opinion ID: 2451028
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Heading: The Legality of the Arrest

Text: The evidence to be admissible in this case must be the product of a search incident to a lawful arrest, since the officers had no search warrant. The lawfulness of the arrest without warrant, in turn, must be based upon probable cause, which exists `where the facts and circumstances within their [the officers'] knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information [are] sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that an offense has been or is being committed.' Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175, 176, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 1311, 93 L.Ed. 1879, 1890 (1949), quoting from Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 162, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543, [555], 39 A.L.R. 790 (1925). Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23, 34-35, 83 S.Ct. 1623, 1630, 10 L.Ed.2d 726 (1963). Whether there was probable cause to arrest the appellant along with others in the apartment depends on the information in the officers' possession prior to the arrest. Of course, all the information in the possession of the officers and all reasonable inferences therefrom are pertinent to determine probable cause. Whether there is justification for probable cause to arrest without warrant must be determined by practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable men act and is not to be determined by hindsight by legal technicians. Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959). The determination of probable cause depends upon the particular facts and circumstances of the individual case and no ready litmus paper test can be applied. Probable cause may be based on hearsay. There is a broad gulf between what is required to prove guilt and the requirement of probable cause. We deal here with controlled substances. In such cases officers may well have to depend on informers, special employees and on their own special experience. United States v. Kancso, 252 F.2d 220 (2nd Cir. 1958). The arrest here was based on an anonymous informer's tip which came in on the community's tip line. Whether an arrest may be made upon the tip of an informer has caused great confusion in the courts. On the one hand to authorize law enforcement officers to arrest a citizen and enter his home on the strength of an anonymous tip would make a mockery of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. A tip may be a prevarication, a malicious statement or the work of the local busybody. To hold true to the principles of our Federal and State Constitutions, an arrest, invasion and search and seizure upon a mere tip of an informer cannot be countenanced. On the other hand, to deny law enforcement officers the power to arrest, search and seize based upon such information may result in serious consequences and the inability of such officers to ferret out criminal activity in the community and to control dangerous substances. A balance must therefore be struck. The proper test is that an officer may rely on information received through an informant, rather than on direct observation so long as the informant's statement is reasonably corroborated by other matters within the officer's knowledge and there is a substantial basis for crediting the hearsay. Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 269, 80 S.Ct. 725, 735, 4 L.Ed.2d 697 (1960). In Jones , it was held that a guest of the owner of the premises had standing to complain of the search and seizure of narcotics found in a room in which he was present. No just interest of the Government in the effective and rigorous enforcement of the criminal law will be hampered by recognizing that anyone legitimately on premises where a search occurs may challenge its legality by way of a motion to suppress, when its fruits are proposed to be used against him. 362 U.S. at 267, 80 S. Ct. at 734. In re J. R. M., 487 S.W.2d 502 (Mo. banc 1972); State v. Ross, 438 S.W. 2d 8 (Mo.1969). Jones also held that there was substantial basis for a search warrant based on an informant's information when the information was corroborated by other sources which reduced the chances of a reckless or a prevaricating tale. As long as there is a substantial basis for crediting the hearsay, the information is not to be deemed insufficient. In Draper v. United States, supra , an arrest was upheld without a warrant solely upon the informant's statement that the defendant was peddling narcotics, as corroborated by the fact that the informant's description of the defendant's appearance and of where he would be on a given morning, matters which of themselves are totally innocuous, agreed with the officers' observations. There is no absolute requirement that the informant be one of previous reliability. United States v. Harris, 403 U.S. 573, 91 S.Ct. 2075, 29 L.Ed.2d 723 (1971). [1] The true inquiry therefore is whether the informant's present information is reliable. As long as the corroboration of the information through other sources, even though the matters are innocuous, reduces the chances of a reckless or prevaricating tale, the information, even though hearsay, may form the basis of probable cause for an arrest. Under the evidence in this proceeding we believe that there was probable cause to arrest the occupants including appellant at the apartment at 215 North Ellis. The information provided by the informant was specificthat certain persons were in the apartment, that drugs were in the refrigerator, that the persons were eating a meal, that when they finished, they were going to Carbondale to dispose of the drugs, that there was a Volkswagen at the rear, and that a sale had been made. The officers did not merely rely on the information, but verified much of the information and were aware that the persons named were users or suppliers of drugs. The officers verified that the apartment was rented to Mr. and Mrs. Moore, that they resided at that address, that the defendant, Umfleet and Hill had a reputation relating to drugs, that a particular automobile was parked at the apartment and that Hill, a known user of drugs was seen about the apartmentmatters innocuous in themselves. An effort was made to obtain a search warrant but a judge was not available, and Lieutenant Stover said that in his experience it takes about an hour and a half to two hours to obtain one. The whole episode took about two hours from the time that the informant first called to the time the officers entered the apartment. Under all the circumstances, we believe there was probable cause to make the arrests.