Opinion ID: 4289070
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Tips from unidentified informants

Text: The affidavit further states: Within the last four months, your affiant has been involved in or received information from several debriefs of subjects who have stated that Tyrone Christian is a large scale drug dealer. These subjects further stated that they have purchased large quantities of heroin and crack cocaine from Christian at 618 Grandville Avenue in the last four to five months. Officer Bush’s assertion that he received information from several unidentified subjects omits critical particulars. Among other things, the affidavit does not tell us the number of individuals who made the statements (“several” could indicate as few as three individuals), explain what constituted a “debrief,” identify the contexts in which the debriefs occurred, or specify the date that the information was received (all of the information could have been received as many as four months before the search). More importantly, Officer Bush’s statement gives no indication as to the veracity or reliability of the information obtained from the “subjects.” We have no way of knowing whether Officer Bush or another officer had a relationship with any of the subjects. Nor did Officer Bush assert any belief concerning the reliability or veracity of the subjects’ comments, let alone provide any factual basis by which the magistrate could assess their reliability or veracity. See United States v. Helton, 314 F.3d 812, 822 (6th Cir. 2003) (noting that, under Sixth Circuit precedent, an affidavit “must contain a statement about some of the underlying circumstances indicating the informant was credible or that his information was reliable” (quoting United States v. Smith, 182 F.3d 473, 477 (6th Cir. 1999))). The affidavit’s complete failure to address the credibility and reliability of the information provided by the subjects is even more glaring when juxtaposed with Officer Bush’s inclusion of a paragraph supporting the credibility and reliability of the confidential informant who conducted the controlled buy in January 2015. With regard to this latter informant, Officer Bush stated that “[y]our affiant was able to confirm much of the information provided by the credible and reliable informant through information maintained by the Grand Rapids Police Department, other credible and reliable informants, public information sources and other law enforcement agencies.” Because Officer Bush knew that hearsay statements from informants No. 17-1799 United States v. Christian Page 10 should be accompanied by an explanation of their credibility and reliability, his failure to do so with respect to information obtained from the unidentified subjects implies the absence of any such indicia. An affidavit establishing probable cause based on an informant’s tip must also provide facts identifying the basis of the informant’s knowledge. Frazier, 423 F.3d at 532. “The ‘basis for knowledge’ factor uses the degree of detail in a tip to infer whether the tipster ‘had a reliable basis for making his statements.’” Helton, 314 F.3d at 822 (quoting Smith, 182 F.3d at 477). In Helton, the court determined that an anonymous tip was “sparse in relevant detail,” causing it to “lose[] persuasive value” where the informant stated that he had been inside the residence that was searched and had seen stacks of money, but “did not describe which rooms he or she visited, where he or she saw the stacks of money, how high the stacks of money were, or how the stacks were stored.” Id. Although Officer Bush’s affidavit suggests that the basis of the subjects’ knowledge was that they had each purchased drugs from Christian at the Residence, the affidavit provides almost no details about the purchases beyond identifying the types of drugs involved. The unidentified subjects did not state exactly when they purchased drugs from Christian, the amount of the drugs purchased, or whether they entered the Residence and saw any controlled substances or other evidence of drug trafficking inside. This lack of detail further reduces the persuasive value of the information obtained from these sources. “[I]n the absence of any indicia of the informants’ reliability, courts insist that the affidavit contain substantial independent police corroboration.” Frazier, 423 F.3d at 532. There is no evidence in the present case that the police corroborated any of the information obtained from the unidentified subjects. The affidavit does not indicate that the police engaged in any ongoing surveillance of the Residence, conducted subsequent controlled purchases, or otherwise tried to verify that Christian was currently using the Residence to sell drugs. And although the police established surveillance of the Residence on the very day that the affidavit was executed, this surveillance did not yield any observations by law enforcement suggesting that Christian was then using the Residence as a base of operations. No. 17-1799 United States v. Christian Page 11 Because the information from these unidentified subjects lacks any indicia of veracity or reliability and was not corroborated by subsequent police investigation, it should be accorded very little weight in determining whether there was probable cause to search the Residence. See United States v. McPhearson, 469 F.3d 518, 524 n.3 (6th Cir. 2006) (“Thus, an allegation of drug dealing based on information from an untested confidential informant is insufficient to establish probable cause to search the alleged drug dealer’s home. However, where the allegation of drug dealing is coupled with independently corroborated information from police officers, it may be sufficient to establish probable cause.”); Helton, 314 F.3d at 822 (concluding that little weight should be given to statements from an informant whose reliability has not been determined); see also United States v. Allen, 211 F.3d 970, 976 (6th Cir. 2000) (noting that an anonymous tip, even one that is “rich in particulars,” will not be enough to establish probable cause if only innocent details are corroborated by the police, but holding that a magistrate may find probable cause to search a residence when “a known person, named to the magistrate, to whose reliability an officer attests with some detail, states that he has seen a particular crime and particular evidence, in the recent past”).