Opinion ID: 1302905
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Garage.

Text: Cedar Rapids Detective Richard Hamblin drafted the affidavit upon which the police sought to search the garage. Because the affidavit furnishes the basis for all three warrants, each challenged by the defendant as insufficient under Iowa Code section 808.3, we set it out below in its entirety, typed as in the original: In June of 1985, I received information from a confidential informant (A) that a Toby Swaim had been involved in a burglary of a hardware store near Mechanicsville, Iowa, and that he had taken about 80 guns, in fact, the confidential informant saw one of the guns. After Toby took the guns, which the informant told me would have occurred sometime near the first of May, he rented a garage under a false name in the garage complex just East of Shakey's Pizza located at 4810 1st Ave NE and the guns were stored in the garage. The confidential informant told me that Toby's partner was another ex-con that lived in the first house behind Pool Tech at 1st Ave and 33rd St Dr SE. I was also told that Swaim and the unknown ex-con had done other burglaries and that they had been using a green van that belonged to the guy living on 33rd St Dr SE. The van could be identified by a large dent in one of the rear doors. I was told further that the person who owned the van had his wife or girlfriend drive for him and Toby while they went out and did their burglaries. I had already been doing surveillance on both Toby Swaim and the residence at 117 33rd St Dr SE. The person in question was a Robert Hutchison and was on parole for habitual offender because of burglaries. I observed the green van with the dent in the rear door and checked with the parole office and found that Hutchison gave his address as 117 33rd St Dr SE, and that he lived in that residence with a Mary Glade. While doing surveillance, I observed a small blue car in front of the residence; this being registered to a Mary Glade with that address. Lt. Fiser of the Linn County Sheriffs Office and I have been doing surveillance on Hutchison for some time and both of us observed Toby Swaim at the Hutchison's residence at various times and dates during the Summer of 1985. Later I found out that Toby Swaim had rented a garage behind Shakey's, but only during the month of May 1985. He started renting the garage just days before the burglary at Mechanicsville and rented the garage for approximately thirty days. I then checked and found that a large theft had occurred at the Cook Hardware Store in Mechanicsville and that approximately 80 guns had been taken. Then on October 9, 1985, I started an investigation of a burglary at Sports Outfitters, Incorporated, 5717 16th Ave SW. During this investigation, I have been working with FBI agent, Richard Heft, Lt. Fiser, Linn County Sheriffs Department, and Detective Greco, Cedar Rapids Police Department. We believe that shortly after midnight on October 8 or early October 9, the burglars entered the business through the back door and took a large number of firearms and ammunition. The burglars had cut the alarm wire, which set off the burglar alarm. Officers from the Cedar Rapids Police Department responded to the alarm; however, did not notice the cut phone lines and thought the business to be secure. It was then left without anyone resetting or repairing the alarm system. The burglars probably went back in right after Cedar Rapids police cars left. Right after, the Cedar Rapids dispatcher sent a police unit to the alarm. Linn County Deputy Sheeley was going West on Highway 30 and observed a small white pickup with a white topper pull out of Sports Outfitters. This matched the description of Toby Swaim's 1979 white Dodge truck. Lt. Fiser and myself started surveillance on Hutchison and Swaim's residences and for approximately a week and a half after the Sports Outfitters burglary, we saw Swaim at Hutchison's house every day. On October 30, 1985, Robert Hutchison was arrested in Omaha, Nebraska with twenty of the stolen guns. He was driving his green van when arrested. We continued on surveillance and continued to see Toby Swaim or his truck parked at Hutchison's residence on numerous occasions. During the first part of November, I talked to a confidential informant (B) who told me that Toby Swaim had a bunch of stolen guns and was trying to sell them very cheap. This informant is a businessman in the community and was afraid that Toby would kill him or his family if he testified against him. I also talked to another confidential informant (C), who told me that Hutchison and Mary Glade had lived together for some time and that she would definitely cover or protect Hutchison in any way. This informant also had knowledge of one handgun being in the residence just prior to October 30, 1985. I also received information from a confidential, reliable informant (D) that a large number of guns from the burglary are currently being stored in a garage that Mary Glade has control of. On November 21, 1985, Lt. Fiser saw Toby and a female, thought possibly to be Mary Glade, leave the residence at 117 33rd St Dr SE approximately 9:30 p.m. in Toby's white truck. Lt. Fiser followed Toby and the female to 4830 1st Ave NE where Toby entered a garage number 29. He was in the garage for about ten minutes and then the two of them left again in the truck. On November 22, 1985, Detective Greco and myself checked with the manager of the rented garage and found that garage number 29 at 4830 First Ave NE was currently being rented by Mary Brown of 117 33rd St Dr SE. This garage had been rented by her on October 10, 1985, which is one day after the gun burglary. During our entire investigation, we have not run across any information that would lead us to believe that the guns have been dispersed; other than the 20 that were recovered in Nebraska. Attached to the affidavit were separate checklists for each informant on which Detective Hamblin checked optional reasons supporting each informant's reliability. With regard to Informant D (the only informant whose credibility is challenged) the detective checked two characteristics: mature individual and no motivation to falsify the information. The judge's endorsement indicated reliance on no sworn testimony other than affidavits and that Informant D's information appeared credibile for the reasons indicated in Attachment B. (Credibility checklist). Defendant argues that the affidavit fails to establish the credibility of Informant D as required by section 808.3 and therefore the sufficiency of the judge's probable cause determination must be measured without reference to the information allegedly furnished by this informant. Without that information, defendant claims, the affidavit fails to establish probable cause. While we agree that excision would be the proper remedy if unlawful information were relied upon, see State v. Seager, 341 N.W.2d 420, 425 (1983), we disagree with defendant's contention that the affidavit does not satisfy the requirements of section 808.3 or that the affidavit as a whole furnished insufficient facts from which a reasonably cautious person would be justified in the belief that an offense has been or is being committed. State v. Leto, 305 N.W.2d at 485; see generally Iowa Code §§ 808.2, .3. Turning first to defendant's statutory argument, we note the State's concession that if no further information had been made available to the issuing judge concerning Informant D, her finding that D was a credible informant would have been questionable. Moreover, there is a certain appeal in defendant's assertion that cases like this one highlight the weakness of a checklist endorsement. A statutory scheme which requires reasons specified by the magistrate seems logically to call for more input from the decision maker than marking an x on a laundry list of informant characteristics. Mindful as we are that these documents are normally drafted by nonlawyers in the midst and haste of a criminal investigation, State v. Paschal, 300 N.W.2d 115, 118 (Iowa 1981) (quoting United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 108, 85 S.Ct. 741, 746, 13 L.Ed.2d 684, 689 (1965)), we are nevertheless compelled to carefully balance that consideration against the court's duty to conscientiously review the sufficiency of the affidavits to ensure that the issuing magistrate's action is not a mere ratification of the bare conclusions of others. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. at 239, 103 S.Ct. at 2333, 76 L.Ed.2d at 549. We believe the legislature enacted the requirements of section 808.3 to aid the court in that balancing process. Though the question is not free from doubt, we conclude that the magistrate's reference to the affidavit and its attachments as furnishing the specific reasons supporting her finding of Informant D's credibility substantially complies with the statute's requirements. As noted, the affidavit indicated that independent police investigation confirmed the defendant's access to a rented garage leased to a Mary Brown who listed her address at 117 33rd St., Dr. S.E. This was the address at which Mary Glade, the defendant's partner's girlfriend resided, and a place frequented by defendant. The affidavit further revealed that this garage had been leased by Brown on the day after the Sports Outfitters burglary. Furthermore, storing stolen guns in a rented garage was a pattern of behavior consistent with the defendant's prior actions, as described by Informant A, a citizen informant whose credibility was well established by the affidavit and attachments and confirmed by police investigation. Independent corroboration of the details of an informant's tip, even if limited to observation of innocent behavior, may serve as strong support for that informant's reliability. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. at 243-44 n. 13, 103 S.Ct. at 522 n. 13, 76 L.Ed.2d at 532 n. 13; United States v. Arenal, 768 F.2d 263, 267 (8th Cir.1985); United States v. Udey, 748 F.2d 1231, 1239-40 (8th Cir.1984) cert. denied, 472 U.S. 1017, 105 S.Ct. 3477, 87 L.Ed.2d 613 (1985). We therefore reject defendant's suggestion that the warrant should be invalidated for failure to comply with the statute. Based on the factual scenario previously outlined, we similarly find no merit in defendant's contention that with or without Informant D's testimony, a reasonably cautious person would not believe that guns from the Sports Outfitters' burglary would be found in the garage on First Avenue. We therefore affirm the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to suppress on this ground.