Opinion ID: 456691
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency of Affidavit to Establish Probable Cause.

Text: 15 Defendants Green and Bisig argue that the affidavit in support of the search warrant does not establish probable cause on its face. More particularly, they argue that there is no indication as to how one of the informants acquired his information and that the corroboration of the other informant's information is based on purely innocent activity. Defendants further assert that the information regarding the purchase of the die for the pill press was stale. 16 '[S]o long as the magistrate had a 'substantial basis for . . . concluding[ing]' that a search would uncover evidence of wrongdoing, the Fourth Amendment requires no more.' Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, ----, 103 S. Ct. 2317, 2331 (1983) (quoting Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 271, 80 S.Ct. 725, 736 (1960)). The magistrate's determination of probable cause should be given 'great deference,' and the review should not be de novo. Id. 17 Pursuant to these standards, we affirm the district court's finding that the affidavit was sufficient. Under the 'totality of the circumstances,' Gates, supra, the search warrant sufficiently demonstrates probable cause to believe 'that an offense had been committed and that evidence thereof would be found on the premises to be searched.' United States v. Besase, 521 F.2d 1306, 1307 (6th Cir. 1975) (citations omitted). 18 The affidavit establishes direct evidence from two reliable informations that defendants were engaged in an illegal drug manufacturing venture at the Easum Road address. This information was corroborated by the defendants' presence at that address and by the purchase of the die for a pill press. In view of the fact that the criminal activity herein consisted of an elaborate drug manufacturing laboratory, which was certainly not a fleeting enterprise, the five months' lag between the receipt of the information concerning the defendants' acquisition of the die for the pill press and the issuance of the warrant does not justify a finding that the information was too stale for consideration. See United States v. Webster, 734 F.2d 1048, 1056 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 105 S. Ct. 565 (1984). Finally, the contention that some of the information supplied in the affidavit represents 'innocent' behavior is not relevant. What is important is that the information provided a basis for a showing of probable cause. See Gates, supra, 103 S. Ct. at 2335 n. 13. 19