Opinion ID: 2975547
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Weapons and ammunition

Text: The second question is whether Bethal was likely to keep at his residence the evidence of gang activity sought by police. The warrant first mentions handguns and ammunition. This court has observed that “individuals who own guns keep them at their homes.” United States v. Smith, 182 F.3d 473, 480 (6th Cir. 1999) (citing United States v. Shomo, 786 F.2d 981, 984 (10th Cir. 1986); United States v. Steeves, 525 F.2d 33, 38 (8th Cir. 1975); United States v. Rahn, 511 F.2d 290, 293 (10th Cir. 1975)). The majority contends that the perpetrator of a shooting would be most likely to dispose of a gun, rather than store it in his home. However, the cases cited by the majority do not address the situation of one who is involved in a series of retaliatory shootings. Under the circumstances here, Bethal was, if anything, more likely than the average gun owner to keep a gun and ammunition at home. As noted above, he was identified as an assailant in two drive-by shootings, which were part of a larger pattern of retaliatory gang shootings spanning five years. The shooters were thus themselves in danger of being shot by rival gang members. The affidavit states that at least one gang member did in fact carry a weapon with him in response to this danger. When the named informant forewarned Delion Burks, one of the targets of the shooting in which McCurley was killed, Burks responded that he “didn’t care,” because he was armed. Affidavit at 3. The axiom that drug dealers are likely to keep evidence of drug dealing at home has been explained by this court as a “reasonable inference[] about where the evidence is likely to be kept,” which an “issuing magistrate is entitled to draw.” Miggins, 302 F.3d at 394 (quoting McClellan, 165 F.3d at 546). The inference that one who was both a perpetrator and a potential target of frequent shootings between rival gangs would be likely to keep a firearm and ammunition at his residence is, 28 if anything, stronger. Though a magistrate could reasonably infer that a drug dealer would keep drugs at home both because this would make them readily available for sale and more easily protected from theft, there certainly are drug dealers who operate only out of their cars, or out of their places of business. See, e.g., Woosley, 361 F.3d at 925 (defendant conducted marijuana sales out of his place of business, an oil change shop); United States v. Clemis, 11 F.3d 597, 599, 602 (6th Cir. 1993) (defendant did not conduct drug transactions at his home, instead selling out of his car using drugs stored for him by third parties). The desirability of having the relevant item close at hand is considerably stronger in the case of a gun, which not only may be needed on short notice to engage in criminal activity – here, driveby shootings, rather than drug sales – but which may serve to protect the owner from attack, an attack which Bethal had good reason to fear. I would therefore hold that the magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding that Bethal was likely to keep weapons and ammunition related to the shootings at his home.