Opinion ID: 886754
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Was the warrant supported by probable cause?

Text: ¶ 36 Beaupre claims that there was insufficient information to establish probable cause necessary for issuance of the search warrant because the informant was anonymous as to Officer Gleich and her report was not corroborated by police. She also notes that the photographs taken by the informant did not exhibit all of the items identified in the application. The State responds that there was probable cause because the informant was not anonymous as to Officer Hamilton, and, even if the information was hearsay to Gleich, it was nonetheless reliable because it was founded upon the personal observations of the informant, acting as a concerned citizen, and upon pictures which confirmed the informant's information. ¶ 37 We must determine whether the District Court, in issuing the search warrant, had a substantial basis to determine probable cause existed. State v. St. Marks, 2002 MT 285, ¶ 12, 312 Mont. 468, ¶ 12, 59 P.3d 1113, ¶ 12. In analyzing whether probable cause existed, we do not look at each individual fact presented in the application for search warrant, but rather a totality of the circumstances. St. Marks, ¶ 22. Where a warrant is based on an informant's information, we have previously set out a step-by-step analysis for determining when further corroboration of an informant's information is necessary to establish sufficient probable cause. St. Marks, ¶ 24; see State v. Reesman, 2000 MT 243, ¶¶ 28-35, 301 Mont. 408, ¶¶ 28-35, 10 P.3d 83, ¶¶ 28-35. ¶ 38 First, if the informant is anonymous, independent corroboration of the informant's information is required. Reesman, ¶ 28. If the informant is not anonymous, the next inquiry is whether the informant's information is based on personal observation or hearsay. Reesman, ¶ 29. If based on hearsay, then independent corroboration is needed. Reesman, ¶ 30. If based on the informant's personal observation, we then address reliability by determining whether the informant has provided reliable and accurate information to officers in the past, whether the admission is against the informant's interest, or whether the informant was motivated by good citizenship. Reesman, ¶¶ 31-34. ¶ 39 Addressing the first requirement, Beaupre argues that the informant was anonymous because Gleich was not aware of the informant's identity, and distinguishes our holding in State v. Oleson, 1998 MT 130, 289 Mont. 139, 959 P.2d 503 ( overruled in part on other grounds by State v. Kuneff, 1998 MT 287, ¶ 19, 291 Mont. 474, ¶ 19, 970 P.2d 556, ¶ 19), which was relied upon by the District Court. In Oleson, an informant advised a game warden that the informant had observed an individual in a pick-up truck with the license RIG PIG spotlighting near the Yellowstone River, and had heard gunshots coming from the pick-up's location. Oleson, ¶ 10. The informant asked to remain anonymous. Oleson, ¶ 10. The game warden visited the area identified by the informant and recovered .22-250 caliber shell casings and deer hair in a drainage ditch within ten feet of the shell casings. The warden obtained a warrant and searched the defendant's home for evidence of the unlawful taking of big game, but also discovered twenty-five packets of methamphetamine, money, and records of drug transactions, leading to drug charges. Oleson, ¶ 2. Based on the foregoing and the warden's experience and training in wildlife crime detection, we concluded that the District Court did not err in concluding that the warrant to search the defendant's home was supported by probable cause, despite the informant's anonymity. Oleson, ¶¶ 11, 19. Beaupre argues that our decision in Oleson relied heavily on the warden's personal discussion with the informant, but here, Gleich had no discussions with the informant. ¶ 40 Beaupre's argument here is essentially two-fold. First, she asserts that because Gleich did not personally speak with or know the informant, then, pursuant to Reesman, the informant was anonymous and police corroboration was required. Secondly, although she does not expressly raise a hearsay issue, she argues that, unlike Oleson, the officer (Hamilton) who had personal contact with the informant was not the same officer (Gleich) who applied for the warrant. Her argument implies that because the informant was anonymous as to Gleich, the warrant was defective because it was based upon hearsay. We turn to her first argument. ¶ 41 Two years after Oleson, we more precisely defined, in Reesman, both the terms and procedures to be employed in analyzing search warrants based upon an informant's reports. We said an anonymous informant means that law enforcement officers have no idea who is providing the information. A phoned-in Crimestoppers `tip' is one frequent, common example. Reesman, ¶ 28. Clearly, the informant here was not anonymous under this definition. Beaupre correctly notes that the informant was not known to Gleich, but the informant was known to Hamilton, who personally talked to the informant and obtained the disk containing pictures from the informant. Hamilton's actions were similar to those of the warden in Oleson. Here, like Oleson, an officer established the informant's identity and had personal contact with the informant. Hamilton then contacted Gleich, who applied for the search warrant based on the information received from Hamilton and Gleich's own observation of the informant's pictures. Thus, the informant was not anonymous as defined in Reesman. ¶ 42 However, though not anonymous, the informant did not want to be identified, and thus, must be considered a confidential informant. To determine the need for independent corroboration, we then inquire whether the confidential informant's report was based upon personal observation of the criminal activity. Reesman, ¶ 29. This requirement is clearly satisfied by the informant's personal involvement here, which included taking pictures. Lastly, the inquiry is whether the confidential informant may be deemed to be reliable. Reesman, ¶ 31. ¶ 43 The basis offered for establishing reliability here is that the informant was acting as a concerned citizen. When determining whether an informant was acting pursuant to good citizenship, we look to the very nature of the circumstances under which the incriminating information became known. Reesman, ¶ 34 (quoting State v. Valley (1992), 252 Mont. 489, 493, 830 P.2d 1255, 1258). The factual situation here is similar to Reesman, but is different in a significant respect which requires a different outcome than in Reesman. ¶ 44 As here, the informant in Reesman was known to police, but remained confidential. Reesman, ¶ 37. Further, the warrant application in Reesman failed to state that the informant was acting as a concerned citizen. Reesman, ¶ 38. Such an indication is also missing from Gleich's application here. Although describing the informant's personal involvement with the evidence and stating that the informant then immediately notified law enforcement, the application does not specifically claim that the informant was acting as a concerned citizen. ¶ 45 However, we reasoned in Reesman that it was more important for the application to state: under what circumstances the informant went to and entered the trailer that day and subsequently was shown the incriminating information she later shared with Detective Hanson. Was she there to clean the carpet? Collect rent? Purchase a gram or two of the fresh harvest? Was she acting under law enforcement direction? Why did [the occupant] so willingly show her his illegal operation? We do not know, and, accordingly, neither did the reviewing magistrate. Reesman, ¶ 38. Because these questions about the informant's involvement and motivation were unanswered by the application, we concluded it was insufficient to provide probable cause without further corroboration. Reesman, ¶ 39. However, the application here is not similarly flawed. ¶ 46 Gleich's application stated that the Beaupres' home had sustained fire damage for which they had contacted a cleaning company. In response, the cleaning crew, including the informant, went to the residence and began working inside. The crew began handling and boxing up personal property items within the house. During that process, the crew observed items they believed to be contraband and an illegal narcotics operation, prompting them to take photographs of the items. Following completion of the cleaning duties, law enforcement was immediately notified. The informant met with police and delivered the photographs. ¶ 47 Thus, unlike Reesman, the application here contained the necessary information to establish the reason for informant's personal exposure to the evidence. The questions unanswered in Reesman are answered here. In this case, the informant was acting as an ordinary citizen who worked as part of a hired cleaning crew that cleaned the Beaupres' home after a fire in the residence. The informant was thrust, via employment, into the position of observing drug manufacturing components at the Beaupres' residence and subsequently reported it to the police. There is nothing in the record to suggest any motivation other than good citizenship, and we conclude that the informant was reliable for purposes of establishing probable cause without further corroboration, and that the information used in the application was reliable and credible. ¶ 48 Beaupre's second argument, that the warrant was impermissibly based on hearsay, is likewise unavailing. We have held that [i]t cannot be disputed that hearsay information may be considered to establish probable cause, State v. Kelly (1983), 205 Mont. 417, 434, 668 P.2d 1032, 1042 (quoting State ex rel. Townsend v. District Court (1975), 168 Mont. 357, 360, 543 P.2d 193, 195), but, more specifically, we have also held that [o]bservations of fellow officers of the Government engaged in a common investigation are plainly a reliable basis for a warrant applied for by one of their number. State v. Seaman (1989), 236 Mont. 466, 472, 771 P.2d 950, 954 (quoting United States v. Ventresca (1965), 380 U.S. 102, 111, 85 S.Ct. 741, 747, 13 L.Ed.2d 684, 690). As such, it was not inappropriate for Gleich to rely on the information Hamilton provided. ¶ 49 Neither was the application insufficient, as Beaupre argues, because the photographs supplied by the informant did not exhibit all of the items listed on the application to be seized during the search. The application relied upon the cleaning crew's personal observations, as communicated by the informant, which was confirmed by photographs of a syringe, cooking components and a white, powdery substance which the crew believed to be cocaine. Officer Gleich, based upon his experience and training, saw other items in the photographs, such as straws, wires and spoons, which he believed were consistent with a drug operation. The informant also related additional information, such as the presence of cooking glassware and empty cans of Coleman fuel. Taken together, the application presented sufficient reliable information to support the search warrant. ¶ 50 Accordingly, we hold that the District Court did not err in concluding that there was probable cause to issue the search warrant.