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CA5: Knock-and-talk at stash house was valid, despite police created exigency

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

El Paso officers had a reliable tip that a van had a large quantity of marijuana in it. Officers followed the van from ground and air to a house that had all the appearances of a stash house. The unladen van left and was lost, so the officers returned to the house to make a knock-and-talk, and the smell of marijuana was powerful from the front yard. A knock at the door led to potential flight inside, and officers went to the back door to cut off an escape route and prevent access to potential weapons. The defendant then consented. The entry into the back yard had an independent source. United States v. Trejo, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 10099 (5th Cir. May 17, 2010) (unpublished)*: Even if we purge from the warrant affidavit any information officers obtained as a result of the intrusion of Trejo's backyard, under the independent source doctrine, sufficient facts remain to constitute probable cause...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 21, 2010 (boomark / email).