Opinion ID: 533
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Exigent Circumstances and Probable Cause

Text: Alfonso and Gerardo contend that the warrantless entry of 3907 East 12th Terrrace was supported by neither exigent circumstances nor probable cause. Police officers may not enter or search a residence without a warrant unless the entry is justified by exigent circumstances. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 590, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980). The exception justifies immediate police action without obtaining a warrant if lives are threatened, a suspect's escape is imminent, or evidence is about to be destroyed. United States v. Ball, 90 F.3d 260, 263 (8th Cir.1996). To evaluate whether a warrantless entry was justified by exigent circumstances, we consider the circumstances that confronted police at the time of the entry. United States v. Leveringston, 397 F.3d 1112, 1116 (8th Cir.2005). We look objectively at whether a reasonable, experienced police officer would believe evidence was in danger of removal or destruction. See United States v. Kuenstler, 325 F.3d 1015, 1021 (8th Cir. 2003). Not only must the government establish that an exigency existed, but also that there was probable cause to search the residence. United States v. Munoz, 894 F.2d 292, 296 (8th Cir.1990). In Leveringston, we held that even though the suspect had been arrested outside the hotel room, the fact that the water and garbage disposal continued to run inside the room gave the police grounds to believe there was a fair probability that evidence of drug traffickinga serious felony offensewould be lost if they did not make immediate entry. 397 F.3d at 1116. We have held in a number of cases that police officers are justified in making an exigent-circumstances entry when, after going to a residence with evidence that an individual was involved in a drug transaction, they knock and identify themselves and then witness an individual retreat or conduct himself in a way that suggests the destruction of evidence. See Ball, 90 F.3d at 262-63 (police approached home where two men were on the porch, one was holding a weapon and then fled into the residence); Munoz, 894 F.2d at 296 (individual ran upstairs after the police knocked and identified themselves); United States v. Clement, 854 F.2d 1116, 1119 (8th Cir. 1988) (officers received no response after knocking, saw someone approach the door, look through the peephole and retreat, and heard a scrambling noise). In this case, we believe that an objectively reasonable police officer, knowing the information supplied by Hernandez-Pena and observing Alfonso's and Gerardo's conduct, would conclude that there was danger of removal or destruction of evidence of a crime. Hernandez-Pena had told officers that the brothers possessed large quantities of illegal narcotics and several firearms and that they served as enforcers for the drug trafficking organization. After arriving at the house and announcing themselves, the officers witnessed evasive behavior. Gerardo and Alfonso consulted one another, following which Gerardo's feigned confusion appeared to be a delaying tactic during which Alfonso took several plastic bags to the kitchen sink and disposed of their contents. Taken together these circumstances justified the officers' warrantless entry. Additionally, under the totality of the circumstances, probable cause existed: a reasonable person would believe that there was a fair probability that drugs or evidence of drug trafficking would be found in the residence. See Kleinholz v. United States, 339 F.3d 674, 676 (8th Cir.2003).