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OH8: Reasonable belief person wanted was inside justified entry

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officers with a reasonable belief that defendant was a person named in an arrest warrant gained entry on the warrant. Once inside, they determined that he was not the person they were looking for. He consented, however, to a sweep of the house to look for the person they wanted, and a plain view of 100 lbs of marijuana was justified. State v. Barnes, 2008 Ohio 5602, 2008 Ohio App. LEXIS 4716 (8th Dist. October 30, 2008): [*P15] More importantly, even if Barnes had not consented, the deputies still would have been allowed to look inside the house for Scott because they had an active arrest warrant for Scott and a reasonable belief that he lived in the house. HN4Police, without a search warrant, consent, or exigent circumstances, are allowed to enter the residence of a person with an active arrest warrant to execute said warrant...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 02, 2008 (boomark / email).