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Suspect Unlawfully Arrested Inside Motel Room When Coercive Police Tactics Forced Him to Answer Door

By Shari Allison

US v. Reeves, 2008 WL 1961246 (10th Cir. 5/7/08):Tenth Circuit REVERSES the district court's denial of the felon-in-possession defendant's suppression motion, holding that the defendant was unlawfully arrested under Payton v. New York. The defendant was arrested without a warrant when he answered his motel room door at 3:30 a.m., after officers made phone calls to his room, knocked on his door and window with their flashlights, and loudly identified themselves as police officers for at least 20 minutes. The officers went to Reeves' room (where he had been living for awhile) because he was a suspect in an aggravated assault. After they beat on his door and forced him out, they saw he had a holster. A subsequent search disclosed guns and ammunition, which were the basis for the federal gun charges...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on May 08, 2008 (boomark / email).