Opinion ID: 1210480
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The district court properly denied the Garrettsons' motion to suppress because the search warrant was supported by probable cause

Text: The Garrettsons also contend that the search warrant was issued without probable cause because Davis's tip was stale and the thermal imaging technology was unreliable. We disagree. This court will not overturn a magistrate's finding of probable cause for a search warrant unless the evidence in its entirety provides no substantial basis for the magistrate's finding. Wright v. State, 112 Nev. 391, 396, 916 P.2d 146, 150 (1996), overruled on other grounds by Levingston v. Washoe County, 114 Nev. 306, 956 P.2d 84 (1998); Keesee v. State, 110 Nev. 997, 1002, 879 P.2d 63, 67 (1994). In the instant case, there was a substantial basis for Judge EnEarl's finding of probable cause. First, we conclude that the Garrettsons' contention that Davis's tip was stale because approximately three months had lapsed between the tip and the issuance of the search warrant lacks merit. Information is stale and probable cause does not exist when it is no longer reasonable to presume that a search will turn up evidence of a crime. Wright, 112 Nev. at 396, 916 P.2d at 149. We have held that in the context of an ongoing illicit operation such as the cultivation of marijuana, rather than a drug transaction, which is transitory in nature, the passage of time is less significant in determining whether information is stale. Id. at 396, 916 P.2d at 150. Accordingly, the approximate three-month lapse in time between Davis's tip and the issuance of the search warrant did not render the tip stale because the Garrettsons' marijuana cultivation was ongoing and continuous in nature. Second, the Garrettsons contend that the use of thermal imaging technology is inherently unreliable because it cannot distinguish natural heat from heat emanating from a marijuana growing operation. [3] We disagree. Increasingly, law enforcement personnel are using thermal imaging to detect marijuana growing operations. See Siegal, 934 P.2d at 181 (providing an in depth discussion of thermal imaging). Additionally, it is generally known that high intensity lights that generate excess heat emissions are used to grow marijuana indoors. See id. at 180. Thermal imaging measures these excess heat emissions and records them on videotape. See id. Therefore, when thermal imaging is performed by a qualified expert, as Judge EnEarl found in this case, thermal imaging may be a reliable indicator of marijuana cultivation. Alternatively, the Garrettsons contend that the search warrant was overbroad because even if there was probable cause to search the shed, there was no probable cause to search the Garrettsons' residence. We disagree. The record shows that there was probable cause to search the shed. [4] We have held that when there is probable cause to search a shed, a warrant may properly authorize a search of the residence as well provided the defendant controls the entire premises. Wright v. State, 112 Nev. 391, 397, 916 P.2d 146, 150 (1996) (citing Keesee, 110 Nev. at 1004-05, 879 P.2d at 68) (warrant may authorize search of entire street address when police have probable cause to search only part of the premises if defendant controls the entire premises.) Clearly, the Garrettsons controlled the residence that they resided in. Accordingly, we conclude that the search warrant was not overbroad because the Garrettsons controlled the entire premises. Finally, the Garrettsons contend that Judge EnEarl abandoned his judicial role by relying on McGuckin's expert opinion of the results of the thermal imaging scan. We disagree. Judge EnEarl considered McGuckin's expert opinion about the thermal imaging results only after the state submitted evidence of McGuckin's qualifications, including a certificate indicating that McGuckin had been trained in thermal imaging by the DEA. Moreover, Judge EnEarl did not rely solely on the thermal imaging evidence; rather, in finding probable cause for the issuance of the warrant, he considered the totality of the circumstances, as mandated by Gates and Keesee. Accordingly, Judge EnEarl acted properly and did not abandon his judicial role.