Opinion ID: 3166089
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lawful Means

Text: The inquiry now turns to whether it would have been lawful for the agents to break into the safe without a warrant. As we stated above, police can search a probationer’s residence based on reasonable suspicion. See Knights, 534 U.S. at 121, 122 S. Ct. at 592-93. When police are lawfully searching an area, they are authorized “to break open locked containers which may contain the objects of the search.” United States v. Martinez, 949 F.2d 1117, 1120 (11th Cir. 1992). 16 Case: 15-12098 Date Filed: 12/29/2015 Page: 17 of 18 As outlined above, the agents had reasonable suspicion to search Harris’s pool house for controlled substances. In addition, the degree of suspicion drastically increased during the time period between the start of the search and Agent Reed’s arrival. During that time, Harris admitted that he had a marijuana plant and agents found a marijuana grow station in his closest and a firearm in his drawer. Furthermore, both Agent Reed and Agent Luke testified that the safe could contain drugs. Agent Luke stated that items related to the hydroponic manufacture of marijuana could have fit in the safe and that, in the past, he had found drugs inside similar safes. Agent Reed added that, in his experience as well, such safes could contain drugs. Indeed, the safe was about five feet tall and easily could have stored a quantity of marijuana. Accordingly, as there was reasonable suspicion to search Harris’s pool house for controlled substances, and the safe was inside the pool house and drugs could easily fit in the safe, the agents had the authority to break open the safe to access its contents. See id. As the district court properly found, the officers had a lawful alternate method of opening the safe.