Opinion ID: 169751
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Mr. Robertson's Arrest

Text: Mr. Robertson owns a house and nine acres of property in Las Animas County, Colorado. The Murnanes, Mr. Robertson's neighbors, live in a mobile home approximately three-hundred yards north of Mr. Robertson's house. In 2003, Mrs. Terri Murnane made several calls to 911 to report that someone (whom she believed to be Mr. Robertson) was trespassing on her property and peering through the windows of her home. In response to these complaints, Deputy Kade Bassett and Deputy Kurt Emery of the Las Animas County Sheriff's Department began patrolling the area and conducting surveillance on Mr. Robertson's house. During their investigation, they never observed Mr. Robertson cross onto the Murnanes' property. On October 16, 2003, Mrs. Murnane obtained a temporary civil protection order (TCPO) against Mr. Robertson requiring him to stay at least one-hundred yards away from the Murnanes. On November 4, 2003, Mrs. Murnane went to the sheriff's office to report that she and her daughter, Samantha, had observed Mr. Robertson on their property earlier that evening in violation of the TCPO. According to Deputy Emery, Samantha told him that she and her brother were playing in her bedroom when she saw Mr. Robertson looking through her window, and Mrs. Murnane told him that she then saw Mr. Robertson running from their property toward his own residence. Deputy Emery reported in an affidavit that he found both Mrs. Murnane and Samantha to be credible based on his observations of their behavior and his prior experiences with them when investigating previous complaints. Based on the Murnanes' statements, Deputy Emery believed he had probable cause to arrest Mr. Robertson for violating the TCPO. He arrested Mr. Robertson without a warrant that day. After arresting Mr. Robertson, Deputy Emery prepared a Warrantless Arrest Affidavit setting forth the basis for probable cause. In the affidavit, Deputy Emery described the statements he received from both Mrs. Murnane and Samantha. He also incorporated into the affidavit portions of an affidavit Deputy Bassett had drafted in October. Deputy Bassett's affidavit described that, on September 25, while investigating a complaint by Mrs. Murnane involving Mr. Robertson, he observed Mr. Robertson exit his house and walk toward the Murnanes' property until he was deterred by an oncoming car. In October, Deputy Bassett sought an arrest warrant for Mr. Robertson based on this affidavit, but the judge denied the request after concluding that the affidavit did not establish probable cause. Deputy Bassett did not know that Deputy Emery used his earlier affidavit to support a finding of probable cause related to Mr. Robertson's November 4 arrest. Deputy Emery explained that he included portions of Deputy Bassett's affidavit in his subsequent affidavit because he wanted the judge who presided over the probable cause hearing to understand the historical background of the Murnanes' complaints. Following his arrest on November 4, Mr. Robertson spent the night in a detention facility. [1] The following day, the judge dismissed the case for lack of probable cause on the basis that the affidavit supporting the arrest contained substantial portions of Deputy Bassett's affidavit, which the judge had already determined failed to show probable cause in an earlier proceeding.