Opinion ID: 206195
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Challenged Search Warrant

Text: On June 10, 2008, detectives with the Niagara Falls Police Department sought and obtained from a city court judge a warrant to search both the person known as WILL N. CLARK, and the premises at 1015 Fairfield Ave, being a multi family dwelling for [c]ocaine and any other controlled substances as well as a range of physical items indicative of drug dealing. Search Warrant at 1. Although nothing before the issuing judge appears to have indicated the size of the building and whether multi family referenced two or twenty distinct residential units, the warrant authorized a search of the entire premises, including any and all persons present at this location during execution of said search warrant, all rooms, contents of those rooms, including any computers and hard drives of same ..., hallways, stairways, storage areas, basement, attic areas, closets, any and all locked and secured areas, locked safes or containers and porches to said address. Id. [1] In support of this expansive warrant, two detectives swore to an affidavit disclosing that an informant of unknown reliability [2] had advised police that Clark was selling cocaine at 1015 Fairfield Avenue, a multi family dwelling, but only to persons previously known to him. Aff. for Search Warrant (Warrant Aff.) at 2-3. The informant had also stated that Clark had full control over 1015 Fairfield Ave. Id. at 2. In further support of the warrant, the detectives swore that in the course of numerous surveillances of the subject premises, police had observed defendant Clark entering and remaining and exercising control at the residence of 1015 Fairfield Ave. Id. In addition, in May 2008, police supervised two controlled purchases of cocaine by the confidential informant from Clark. On the first occasion, after confirming that the informant had no drugs in his possession, police observed him going directly to the area of 1015 Fairfield Ave, staying for a short period of time, and then retu[r]ning directly back to your deponents whereupon the informant turned over an off white chunk substance that tested as cocaine. Id. On the second occasion, after again confirming that the informant had no drugs in his possession, police observed him going directly to the area of 1015 Fairfield Ave, entering the front porch area, staying for a short period of time, and then returning directly back to your deponents, where he turned over an off white chunk substance that tested as cocaine. Id.