Opinion ID: 1099870
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: bills of exceptions numbers 2 and 4

Text: Around September 20, 1971, approximately one hundred cases of wine were stolen from the Svoboda Distributing Company in Houma, Louisiana. The stolen wine consisted mostly of Boone's Farm Apple Wine and Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill Wine, bottled in both tenths and fifths of a gallon. On September 27, 1971, after presenting an affidavit to a Houma city judge, Detective Ralph Bergeron of the Houma Police Department obtained a warrant to search the defendant's place of business, known as George's Package Liquor Store. In substance [1] the affidavit recited that on or about September 20, 1971, a confidential informer, known personally by affiant, purchased from George's Package Liquor Store one case of Boone's Farm Apple Wine and seven cases of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill Wine in tenths; that the eight cases were turned over to affiant who determined that the eight cases were part of the wine stolen from Svoboda Distributing Company; that the confidential informer told affiant that he saw about forty more cases of Boone's Farm Wine being concealed at defendant's liquor store when he made the previously mentioned purchase; and that the owner of the Svoboda Distributing Company stated to affiant, both on September 20, 1971 and September 27, 1971, that he did not sell any type of wine to the said George's Package Liquor Store. The return to the search warrant shows that the following items were seized in a search of defendant's business premises: one full case of Boone's Farm Apple Wine, Fifths, four cases of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill Wine, tenths, three empty cases of Boone's Farm Apple Wine, fifths, one case of tenths of Strawberry Hill Wine with five bottles missing, three fifths of Boone's Farm Apple Wine, and seven tenths of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill Wine. Prior to trial, defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized pursuant to the search warrant. Defendant's pre-trial motion to suppress attacked the validity of the search warrant on the ground that the confidential informer had made false statements to the police officer, which statements were then used to obtain the search warrant. The defendant did not allege in the motion to suppress that the police officer had knowingly recited false statements to the Houma city court in his application for the search warrant. Thus, relying on State v. Anselmo, 260 La. 306, 256 So.2d 98 (1971), the trial court properly judged the affidavit on its face, rejecting defendant's attempts to inquire into the truthfulness of the facts set forth in the affidavit. In Anselmo this court ruled that the truthfulness of the facts which were supplied to an affiant by a confidential informer and which were then recited by the affiant in his application for a search warrant could not later be attacked at a hearing on a motion to suppress. Judged on its face, the police officer's affidavit established probable cause for the valid issuance of the search warrant. C.Cr.P. 162. Thus, the trial court properly denied the motion to suppress. Bill of Exceptions Number 2 is without merit. Following the trial, but prior to sentencing, defendant moved for a new trial. Defendant contended that evidence adduced at trial indicated that Detective Bergeron obtained the search warrant by making false statements in his affidavit. Defendant urged that the search warrant was invalid due to the alleged falsification of the affidavit and that all the evidence seized under the warrant should be excluded from a new trial. C.Cr.P. 851(1), (4), (5). The trial judge found no evidence of falsification and denied the motion. Defendant reserved Bill of Exceptions Number 4. The trial judge was correct. Bergeron, the affiant, did not falsify the allegations of the affidavit, but did conceal the fact that his confidential informer was a deputy sheriff who made the purchase through another informer. There was no error in the allegation that the wine purchased from defendant was part of the stolen wine. Hence, there was probable cause for the issuance of the search warrant. Bill of Exceptions Number 4 is without merit.