Opinion ID: 155277
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Facts according to the Agents

Text: -3- Two affidavits were filed along with the motion for summary judgment: one from Agent Ward, and the other from Dennis Larsen -- a Sergeant with the Tulsa Police Department and the commanding officer of the Tulsa Police Department Bomb Squad. According to Agent Ward's affidavit, once the Agents opened the front door, a vicious dog confronted them, so in an attempt to force the dog into the back yard, the Agents also forced open the back door. In the house, Agent Ward discovered two other dogs, one of which was an older dog that was unable to move and was lying in its own excrement; Agent Ward called the City of Tulsa Animal Control to attend to the dogs. After notifying animal control, Agent Ward discovered what appeared to be a home-made time bomb on top of a table. Id.) Agent Ward evacuated the residence and notified the Tulsa Police Department Bomb Squad. Prior to the Bomb Squad's entry to the house, the gas service was temporarily disconnected to prevent a second source of ignition. Upon his entry into the house as a member of the Bomb Squad, Sergeant Larsen saw the house in total disarray including rotting food on the countertops, piles of dirty clothing on the floor, and dog feces scattered everywhere. The Bomb Squad x-rayed the bomb-looking object, determined it was -4- missing a complete firing circuit, and disassembled it to establish it contained no explosives. After the bomb squad concluded the house was free of explosives, the Agents reentered the house to continue the search. Upon reentry, Agent Ward noticed the house had a strong odor of urine and had dog feces, food, firearms, ammunition, clothing, videos and magazines strewn throughout the residence. During the search, Agent Ward forcibly entered a gun vault and a metal box fitting the informant's description of where Mr. Lawmaster stored the machine gun. In the vault, Agent Ward discovered several firearms including one matching the informant's description. Agent Ward conducted a field test on the gun concluding it was not a machine gun; he then returned all the firearms neatly back inside the vault and closed the door. Prior to departing, Agent Ward left a copy of the search warrant and a note stating nothing was seized. He also used a hammer to repair both the front and rear doors so they would shut tightly and lock.