Opinion ID: 2575291
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Residence and vehicle search

Text: On February 16, at approximately 6:10 p.m., Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Detectives Davis and Messier, joined by five San Jose Police Department officers, forced entry into defendant's residence to search for victims. Davis and at least one other officer looked in rooms, under beds, and in closets, but did not open any cabinets or drawers. Davis observed in plain view a rifle standing against a dresser, a gas mask on top of a different dresser, and gun-cleaning equipment on the coffee table. Due to earlier confusion concerning defendant's current address, Davis briefly looked at documents on a table to determine whether there was mail addressed to defendant. Approximately five to 15 minutes elapsed during the search, after which all but one San Jose officer left. Nothing was seized. Between approximately 6:30 and 6:45 p.m., Davis informed Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Detective Piatanesi that no victims had been found. At approximately 8:00 p.m., Piatanesi called Davis and instructed him and Messier to search the residence for explosives and garage door openers. They searched for these items for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, this time opening cabinets and drawers. No such items were found, and nothing was seized. At approximately 8:30 p.m., defendant was taken into custody at ESL. The next dayFebruary 17, 1988law enforcement officers sought and obtained warrants to search defendant's residence and his vehicle parked in front of the house. The affidavit in support of the warrants represented that law enforcement authorities sought evidence regarding firearms; body armor; incendiary, explosive, or detonation devices; ammunition; photographs of defendant, Laura Black, or ESL; documents to or from Black or ESL; medical documents related to defendant; documents related to defendant's employment at ESL and Covalent; and evidence of ownership and occupancy of, and possessory right to, the vehicle and the residence. The affidavit stated the following: utility records reflected that service at the residence was in defendant's name; defendant's former roommate identified defendant's vehicle in front of the house; defendant was a disgruntled former employee who had entered ESL and shot and killed seven individuals on February 16; an ESL employee identified defendant as the person who had entered the building with a shotgun; Laura Black stated defendant shot her at ESL on February 16, 1988, and had been harassing her for four years; on February 2, 1988, Black had obtained a TRO against defendant; an officer at the scene of the shooting had jumped inside the open motor home for cover and there observed a rifle with a scope, a large pile of empty ammunition boxes, and four gallons of inflammable liquid; Home Away From Home Rentals confirmed defendant had rented the motor home; and during the warrantless search of defendant's residence on February 16, a gas mask, a rifle, and gun-cleaning equipment were observed in plain view. Defendant moved to suppress all evidence seized from his house and his vehicle. The trial court denied the motion.
Defendant contends the two warrantless entries on February 16 were invalid, the search warrants were tainted by evidence obtained illegally in the warrantless searches, and the warrants lacked probable cause and sufficient particularity. We need not decide whether the warrantless searches were justified because (1) even assuming that the first warrantless search was invalid and excising from the search warrant affidavit the evidence observed during the first search, the affidavit nonetheless provided probable cause to support issuance of the warrants, and (2) the second warrantless search disclosed no additional evidence. (9) Probable cause to search exists when, based upon the totality of the circumstances described in the affidavit, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. ( Illinois v. Gates (1983) 462 U.S. 213, 238 [76 L.Ed.2d 527, 103 S.Ct. 2317]; People v. Kraft (2000) 23 Cal.4th 978, 1040-1041 [99 Cal.Rptr.2d 1, 5 P.3d 68] ( Kraft ); § 1525.) Excising from the search warrant affidavit the evidence observed during the first warrantless search (the gas mask, rifle, and gun-cleaning equipment), the affidavit alleged that defendant was a disgruntled former employee who on February 16 had entered ESL and shot and killed seven individuals, had harassed ESL employee Laura Black for four years and then shot her at ESL after the recent issuance of a TRO, and possessed a rifle with a scope, numerous empty boxes of ammunition, and inflammable liquid in the motor home he had rented and driven to ESL the day of the shooting. ( People v. Weiss (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1073, 1081 [86 Cal.Rptr.2d 337, 978 P.2d 1257].) These circumstances demonstrated a fair probability that evidence relevant to defendant's commission of the crimes existed in defendant's house and vehicle. ( Illinois v. Gates, supra, 462 U.S. at p. 238; see People v. Gonzalez (1990) 51 Cal.3d 1179, 1206 [275 Cal.Rptr. 729, 800 P.2d 1159] ( Gonzalez ) [the court acknowledged case law `recogniz[ing] that from the nature of the crimes and the items sought, a magistrate can reasonably conclude that a suspect's residence is a logical place to look for specific incriminating items'].) (10) We also reject defendant's contention that the categories of the search warrants lacked sufficient particularity and allowed the searching officers almost unfettered discretion. A search warrant must `particularly describ[e] the place to be searched.' (U.S. Const., 4th Amend.; Cal. Const., art. I, § 13; see also Pen. Code, § 1525.) `The manifest purpose of this particularity requirement was to prevent general searches. By limiting the authorization to search to the specific areas and things for which there is probable cause to search, the requirement ensures that the search will be carefully tailored to its justifications, and will not take on the character of the wide-ranging exploratory searches the Framers intended to prohibit.' ( Maryland v. Garrison (1987) 480 U.S. 79, 84 [94 L.Ed.2d 72, 107 S.Ct. 1013].) ( People v. Amador (2000) 24 Cal.4th 387, 392 [100 Cal.Rptr.2d 617, 9 P.3d 993].) Whether the description in a warrant of property to be seized is sufficiently definite is a question of law subject to independent review by the appellate court. ( Kraft, supra, 23 Cal.4th at p. 1041.) Here, the warrants sought evidence of defendant's possession and ownership of weapons and explosives, photographs and documents related to Black and ESL, documents concerning his employment at Covalent, proof of ownership and of a possessory right to the residence and the vehicle, and his medical and psychiatric records. Such description was sufficiently definite to allow the officer conducting the search to identify the property to be seized, and to prevent a wide-ranging exploratory search.