Opinion ID: 412072
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Validity of Arrests

Text: 12 After he had conferred with Illinois Agent Waldrup, Federal Agent McGivney confirmed through the National Crime Index Computer System that Defendant Nisbet was wanted by Illinois law enforcement officials for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and failure to appear. The government relied upon these warrants and the knowledge that Nisbet was transporting cocaine as probable cause for Nisbet's arrest. Both defendants claim that their arrests were improper. 13 Nisbet argues that McGivney's affidavit submitted to obtain a search warrant after the arrests did not demonstrate that the officers had probable cause for the earlier arrest because the affidavit was conclusory and based upon information from an informant who, Nisbet alleges, was not proved reliable. We disagree. First, as a general proposition, a search warrant cannot always be utilized as a measure of probable cause for an arrest. Although much of the factual information might overlap, probable cause to search differs from probable cause to arrest. Therefore, an affidavit may support the issuance of a search warrant without stating adequate grounds for an arrest. Moreover, this court will not invalidate an arrest merely because a subsequent affidavit does not demonstrate probable cause. The crucial determination is whether the agents actually had probable cause at the time of arrest. United States v. Fernandez-Guzman, 577 F.2d 1093, 1098 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 954, 99 S.Ct. 351, 58 L.Ed.2d 345 (1978). We find that the agents here had probable cause to arrest Nisbet, based on their confirmed knowledge that he was being sought for two crimes and their information from that informant. 14 Second, we are convinced that the affidavit for a search warrant did illustrate probable cause for Nisbet's arrest. 5 The information contained in the affidavit was factual, not conclusory. Agent McGivney relied on Agent Waldrup's representations as to the informant's reliability and veracity. We cannot fault that reliance. 6 Thus, the agents' reliance upon the knowledge that Nisbet would be in Crawfordsville with cocaine was proper. See, e.g., United States v. Scott, 545 F.2d 38, 40 (8th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1066, 97 S.Ct. 796, 50 L.Ed.2d 784 (1977). In addition, the existence of outstanding warrants, confirmed through computer records, is authority for an arrest. 15 Defendant Jones contends that his arrest likewise was executed without probable cause. He argues that the agents arrested him before they had any grounds to do so, and that the subsequent sweep of the room which revealed drug paraphernalia could not be used to justify his arrest, regardless of the validity of that sweep. 16 In Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 101 S.Ct. 2587, 69 L.Ed.2d 340 (1981), the Supreme Court discussed its long-held view that certain seizures, despite implicating Fourth Amendment protection, constitute such limited intrusions on the rights of the persons detained and are justified by such substantial state interests that they may be made on a standard less than probable cause. Id. at 699, 101 S.Ct. at 2592. As noted in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 19, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1878, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), the central inquiry under the Fourth Amendment is the reasonableness in all the circumstances of the particular governmental invasion of a citizen's personal security. 17 Here, the agents had probable cause for Nisbet's arrest. When they entered room 150 they immediately confronted a second person--Jones--who they already knew was in the room. The agents also knew, from Agent King's earlier entry into the room, that the room was littered with drug paraphernalia and substances resembling drugs. In addition, room 150 was registered to L. Jones. It would have been absurd for Agent McGivney to have taken Nisbet out of the room while ignoring Jones. Instead, Jones was detained. If the information supplied by Agent King at 3:30 p.m. was not enough in itself to constitute probable cause to arrest Jones, the information gleaned by McGivney in his rapid sweep of the motel rooms certainly erased any doubt about the officers' right to make the arrest. Probable cause requires facts and circumstances sufficient to convince a prudent person that the suspect had committed or was committing a crime. Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 111-12, 95 S.Ct. 854, 861-862, 43 L.Ed.2d 54 (1975). That standard was satisfied.