Opinion ID: 2225166
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: In Gorup I, we stated the underlying facts as follows: In July 2006, the Bellevue Police Department conducted an investigation of Gorup, who was suspected of dealing narcotics from his apartment. When it was discovered that Gorup had a warrant outstanding for failure to appear on a previous drug violation, two detectives formulated a plan to go to Gorup's apartment and conduct a knock-and-talk investigation with Gorup concerning suspected drug trafficking. Their objective was to obtain Gorup's consent to search his apartment. On July 31, 2006, the detectives arrived at Gorup's apartment in an unmarked police vehicle. As they approached the apartment, a male was seen leaving. When asked if Gorup was home, the man replied in the affirmative. The man returned to the apartment, opened the door, and informed Gorup that someone was there to see him. Gorup appeared and began to exit the apartment. As he approached the threshold of the doorway, a detective informed Gorup that he was under arrest. At that point, Gorup, who was standing directly outside his apartment door, was placed in handcuffs. He was not transported from the scene immediately because a marked police car was not available. While standing at the door, a detective noticed a person sitting on a couch inside the apartment. He also observed some blade-edged weapons. Gorup informed the detectives that a couple of people were in the apartment. After waiting for a uniformed officer to arrive, the detectives performed what they described as a protective sweep of the apartment. The individuals in the apartment were escorted to the living room. A detective then performed what he described as a search incident to arrest. In doing so, he searched a small black zippered-type case located on a table just inside the doorway, 4 or 5 feet away from Gorup. The case was not zipped shut, and inside, the detective saw a couple [of] bags that he recognized from his training and experience as [being] methamphetamine. He left the bags inside the case on the table. During this time, Gorup remained in the hallway with his hands cuffed behind his back. It is unknown whether Gorup could observe the detectives' activity. One detective testified that a wall probably would have obstructed Gorup's view of the detectives' activity inside the apartment. Though not specified in the record, the parties stated at oral argument that this activity continued for about 30 minutes. After this search, one of the detectives directed the uniformed officer to escort Gorup to the marked police car. The same detective followed Gorup to the car, and while Gorup was seated in the police car, the detective requested Gorup's consent to search the apartment. Gorup was informed several times that he did not have to provide his consent. The detective testified that Gorup gave his consent to a search of the apartment. This subsequent search revealed several items of contraband in addition to the bags of methamphetamine in the black zippered case. After the search, the detective returned to the police car and read Gorup his Miranda rights. The detective told Gorup about the black zippered case. Gorup admitted that he knew of the case but denied that it was his. The detective stated Gorup told him that Gorup had been selling methamphetamine to raise money so he could move from his apartment. Before trial, Gorup moved to suppress all items of physical evidence seized from his apartment. The district court overruled the motion. The court found that the initial warrantless search of Gorup's apartment was not lawful as a protective sweep and might have been unlawful as a search incident to arrest. It found that the subsequent consent to the search of the apartment was voluntary and therefore served as an adequate basis for the seizure of the hygiene case and the contents thereof. It found that although Gorup knew that the detectives had entered his apartment, he did not know whether incriminating evidence had been found when he gave his consent to search the apartment. After a stipulated bench trial, the district court convicted Gorup of possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, and sentenced him to a term of 1 to 3 years' imprisonment, granting him credit for 249 days spent in jail awaiting disposition of this charge. [2] In Gorup I, Gorup assigned that the court erred in failing to suppress evidence found during the detectives' search of his apartment because the detectives had already illegally searched his apartment before he consented. He argued that the prior illegality tainted his consent for the detectives to search again. We concluded that the court failed to determine whether the search was valid as a search incident to arrest and whether the detectives obtained Gorup's consent by exploiting an illegal search. We explained that when a person gives law enforcement officers consent to search following their illegal entry, a court should admit the evidence only if the consent meets two conditions: (1) the consent was voluntary; and (2) it was not obtained through an exploitation of the illegal entry. We recognized that the court found Gorup's consent was voluntary because the detectives had advised Gorup that he could refuse consent and had not confronted him with the evidence they had uncovered. But we concluded that the court failed to consider the appropriate factors for determining whether Gorup's consent to search was an exploitation of an illegal entry. We vacated Gorup's conviction and sentence and remanded the cause for the court to consider two issues: (1) whether the search-incident-to-arrest exception to the warrant requirement applied; and (2) if not, whether Gorup's consent was tainted by the illegal search and must be excluded as the fruit of the poisonous tree. We also set out specific factors for the court to consider in determining whether Gorup's consent was purged of the taint of an illegal search.