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CA10: Defendant was occupant of premises subject to detention under Summers even though he was asleep in the car when SW executed

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officers came to defendant’s property with a search warrant, and they found him asleep in the car. One officer tapped on the window with a gun to wake him up. Defendant was removed from the car and handcuffed face down on the ground. He refused to consent to a search of the car, and a drug dog was brought in and alerted on the car. It was searched finding 250g of methamphetamine. Defendant’s seizure and detention was valid under Summers as an occupant of the house, albeit outside at the time. United States v. Johnson, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 4330 (10th Cir. March 3, 2011) (unpublished): In light of Summers and Muehler, Mr. Johnson's first argument is unavailing. As long as a person is an occupant of the premises identified in a search warrant, officers have “categorical” authority to detain him or her for the duration of the search...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 09, 2011 (boomark / email).