Opinion ID: 2274559
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The drugs must be immediately retrievable.

Text: We also noted that, [i]f, instead, Pennewell had been standing by a water drain and managed to drop the drugs into the drain, it is likely that the result would be different. [17] That is, Pennewell likely would have committed the crime of Tampering with Evidence had the drugs fallen into the water drain. Just as police may immediately retrieve evidence from an elevated garage roof, [18] they may also immediately retrieve evidence from a subterranean water drain. Our comment about water drains is based on the solubility of drugs and the movement by water throughout a labyrinthine drainage system. If a police officer had to climb the same ladder to mount a roof or descend into a drain, and the evidence remained exactly where and how it initially fell onto both surfaces, the result should not differ. If, on the other hand, some drugs dispersed or dissolved into the water, or the police could not find the drugs, then the defendant would have suppressed the evidence's use in an anticipated official proceeding by destroying it.