Opinion ID: 1239150
Heading Depth: 7
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Omission of information relating to prior searches

Text: Detective St. John did not describe in the affidavit the two prior searches that had been conducted of defendant's apartment and vehicle on July 16 and July 31. These searches consisted of a consensual and cursory search conducted by a single police officer on July 16, and the more extensive search (discussed, ante, pp. 1285-1297) conducted pursuant to a warrant by several officers on July 31. The trial court found that the August 16 affidavit referred several times to the July 31 search, that the attachments to the later affidavit included a copy of the earlier warrant and the related property return, and that the magistrate had sufficient time to read the contents of the August 16 affidavit as well as portions of the attachments, including the prior warrant and return, and reasonably would have understood there had been a prior search on July 31 before issuing the August 16 warrant. [10] Defendant contends that pursuant to U.S. v. Whitworth (9th Cir.1988) 856 F.2d 1268, 1281-1282 ( Whitworth ), it was not proper for law enforcement officials to withhold information regarding prior searches of the same premises for magistrates considering warrant applications. That decision and others have observed that prior case authority has declined to establish a per se rule against consecutive searches, presuming, `in the absence of some showing to the contrary, that officers perform their duties and properly execute the processes placed in their hands.' ( Id. at p. 1282; Filippelli v. United States (9th Cir.1925) 6 F.2d 121, 125.) In Whitworth, a warrantless but consensual search was conducted of the defendant's residence, and a second search pursuant to a warrant was conducted 11 days later. (856 F.2d 1268, 1278-1279.) The court found the government's intentional failure to mention the initial search in the subsequent affidavit to be problematic. It concluded, however, that the consent-based search had not been performed as thoroughly as a warrant-based search would have been, and that probable cause still existed for the subsequent search. ( Id. at p. 1282.) In the present case, similarly, the July 16 consensual search of defendant's apartment and vehicle was extremely cursory in nature and did not negate probable cause to believe that incriminating evidence would be found during a subsequent search based upon a warrant. Moreover, with regard to the subsequent warrant-based searches, the present case is factually distinct from Whitworth in two important respects. First, the August 16 affidavit expressly referred to a previous search conducted pursuant to a warrant; the affidavit's attachments specified that it occurred on July 31 and provided documentation of the objects of that search as well as its results. Second, the issuance of the second search warrant was based upon a showing of additional criminal activity. The probable cause supporting the July 31 search warrant was predicated upon defendant's connection with two incidents arising in the westside of Los Angeles  the disappearance of Tracey Campbell on July 12 and the murder of Mischa Stewart in October 1982. Following the July 31 search of defendant's apartment and vehicle, but prior to the application for a search warrant made on August 16, the police had made several major discoveries. Tracey's body, found in the desert area near Lancaster, provided specifics as to the location and manner of her death. Shari's body had been identified in part through defendant's possession of her photographs, and he had admitted his personal acquaintance and contacts with her just prior to her disappearance  circumstances that, combined with information provided by others, connected defendant with her death as well. Further, as Detective St. John testified, during the period following defendant's release from police custody on August 3 until his re-arrest on August 16, defendant had the opportunity to conceal small items on his person  jewelry or human parts  and transfer them to his apartment. Even had it been emphasized in the affidavit of August 16 that two prior separate searches had been conducted within a one-month period, the magistrate reasonably could have concluded that additional probable cause existed to conduct a third search.