Opinion ID: 1095444
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: did the trial court err in failing to suppress evidence of certain items allegedly obtained through an invalid search warrant?

Text: Appellant contends that certain items seized by officers from the home he shares with his father, stepmother and half brothers and sisters (enumerated infra) were obtained without benefit of a valid search warrant, in that the underlying facts and circumstances used in the affidavit forming the basis for the issuance of the warrant were made with intentional inaccuracy. In Garvis v. State, 483 So.2d 312 (Miss. 1986), we discussed error assigned by appellant alleging that there was no underlying factual basis to supply probable cause in the issuance of a search warrant. In Garvis, supra, at 314, we said: We consider this question under the now familiar totality of the circumstances test accepted and enforced in so many of our recent cases. Jones v. State, 481 So.2d 798, 800 (Miss. 1985); Breckenridge v. State, 472 So.2d 373, 376 (Miss. 1985); McCommon v. State, 467 So.2d 940, 941 (Miss. 1985); Stringer v. State (Miss. No. 54,805, dec. February 27, 1985) (not yet reported); Hall v. State, 455 So.2d 1303, 1308-09 (Miss. 1984); Lee v. State, 435 So.2d 674 (Miss. 1983). This test has been accepted into our jurisprudence from Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983) wherein the United States Supreme Court prescribed the task of the issuing magistrate as: simply to make a practical, common sense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before him, including the veracity and basis of knowledge of persons supplying hearsay information, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. 103 S.Ct. at 2332. See also, Gandy v. State, 438 So.2d 279, 283 (Miss. 1983). Furthermore, in Walker v. State, 473 So.2d 435 (Miss. 1985), we held that where information constituting the underlying facts and circumstances of an affidavit is furnished by an eyewitness rather than an informant, there is no need to show the party supplying the information was a credible person. See e.g. Foley v. State, 348 So.2d 1034 (Miss. 1977); Holt v. State, 348 So.2d 434 (Miss. 1977); Wolf v. State, 281 So.2d 445 (Miss. 1973). The rationale for the victim or witness exception is that the statements of such eyewitnesses are based on their own observation and thus are not likely to reflect idle rumor of irresponsible conjecture. Walker, supra, at 438. As established in our discussion of the previous assignment of error we find that the statements of the victims and their identification of the defendant from the pictures created probable cause for issuance of the search warrant. Finally, we utilize in our decision the standards set forth in the case of Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978), in which the United States Supreme Court said: [t]here is, of course, a presumption of validity with respect to the affidavit supporting the search warrant. To mandate an evidentiary hearing, the challenger's attack must be more than conclusory and must be supported by more than a mere desire to cross examine. There must be allegations of deliberate falsehood or of reckless disregard for the truth, and those allegations must be accompanied by an offer of proof. They should point out specifically the portion of the warrant affidavit that is claimed to be false; and they should be accompanied by a statement of supporting reasons. In the case at bar, we find no such deliberately false allegations or reckless disregard for the truth, only the statements of two very brave young women, though at times understandably confused, which we deem to be reliable in establishing probable cause. The decision of the trial court is, therefore, affirmed. AFFIRMED. WALKER, C.J., ROY NOBLE LEE and HAWKINS, P.JJ., and DAN M. LEE, PRATHER, ROBERTSON, SULLIVAN and ANDERSON, JJ., concur.