Opinion ID: 4521761
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Protective Sweep of Griffin’s Home

Text: On January 11, 2017, four Pelham, Georgia police officers responded to a 911 call reporting that Griffin had pointed a gun at a woman.3 Officers went to the home of the two women who reported the incident: Feidyanna Stewart and Jayleen Stewart (the “Stewart sisters”). The Stewart sisters explained that while they were inside Griffin’s home, Feidyanna Stewart and Griffin began arguing. During the argument, Griffin asked another man—whom they identified as “Big Man”—“to give him that ‘Thang,’” in reference to a black pistol. When Griffin pointed the pistol at Feidyanna Stewart, the Stewart sisters left the house. The officers went to Griffin’s house following their conversation with the Stewart sisters. Approximately 20 minutes after the officers received the call from the Stewart sisters, they knocked on Griffin’s front door. Griffin came to the storm door, and eventually stepped out onto his porch and identified himself to officers. At that point, the officers handcuffed him. During his interactions with Griffin at 3 We present these facts as laid out in Captain Adam Lamb’s affidavit for a search warrant, Griffin’s Motion to Suppress, and Officer Lamb’s testimony during the motion to suppress hearing. Griffin does not dispute these facts on appeal. 3 Case: 18-14826 Date Filed: 04/02/2020 Page: 4 of 13 the front door, Captain Lamb observed the strong odor of marijuana emanating from inside the home. After handcuffing Griffin, the officers performed a protective sweep of the home. Lamb testified that based on his experience and the Stewart sisters’ statements—that Griffin had a firearm, which was not on his person, and that there was another man in the home—he was concerned that the others in the house could destroy evidence, hide the gun, or attack the officers. Upon entering the home, which generally smelled of marijuana, the officers found two other individuals: Zachary Walker and James “Big Man” Griffin (no relation to Joshua Griffin). During the protective sweep, another officer observed a plastic bag that had a strong odor of marijuana coming from it. Lamb then obtained a search warrant for Griffin’s residence, identifying the odor of marijuana inside of the home and the bag that smelled of marijuana as probable cause for the search.