Police access to your property

[Brown-Bear]

I'm glad someone said it. I was reading this thread and was like OMG these guys think they are immune from "Plain View" discovery. If the LEOs are looking a guy hidden in the bushes in your back yard, and they find the still and weed plants that you and your neighbor are cultivationg, you're toast. They may not do right then and there, but take my word someone will be along in very short order to have achat with you.

Dave

[Steve in PA]

Originally Posted by OldSkaterDan

Really? If you were in pursuit of, say, a murderer (if the homeowner wasn't suspected of abetting), you would stop and bust someone for a bag of weed?

Just want to be sure I didn't misread.

Thanks,
Dan

If I'm chasing after someone, I doubt I would notice a bag of weed sitting on your table.

If I have a search warrant, that means I am not rushed and more than likely will spot your pot. If that is the case, the pot gets seized, you get cuffed and someone else might be back with a different search warrant.

[pirateron]

Apparently, the moral of the story is, "unless a search warrant is presented, stay the f#*^ off my property." You know, If said bad guy is running and throws his heroin and needles in your yard and you let the po-po look for him and they find said contraband, YOU go to jail for it. Hey, I'd like to help, but, do your job elsewhere.

Thanks for the heads-up. Earlier this summer, some kids were riding their little dirt bike up and down the road at night. Barney Fife comes up to my door to ask if I knew who they are and where they went. I tell him they live behind us somewhere on the other side of the creek, but not sure which house and no, I don't know where they went. He asks if he can look in the back yard for them and I says "sure, go right ahead." Now I'll have to rethink that response if it ever comes up again.

[Steve in PA]

Originally Posted by pirateron

Apparently, the moral of the story is, "unless a search warrant is presented, stay the f#*^ off my property." You know, If said bad guy is running and throws his heroin and needles in your yard and you let the po-po look for him and they find said contraband, YOU go to jail for it. Hey, I'd like to help, but, do your job elsewhere.

Thanks for the heads-up. Earlier this summer, some kids were riding their little dirt bike up and down the road at night. Barney Fife comes up to my door to ask if I knew who they are and where they went. I tell him they live behind us somewhere on the other side of the creek, but not sure which house and no, I don't know where they went. He asks if he can look in the back yard for them and I says "sure, go right ahead." Now I'll have to rethink that response if it ever comes up again.

Get your facts straight.

Just because the police find drugs and needles in your yard does NOT mean they belong to you. Anyone could throw, drop, etc them into your yard.

If the items are found on your coffee table, night stand, etc........

As I said, the police do NOT need a search warrant to check your yard if they are actively looking for someone.

[bogey1]

Originally Posted by Steve in PA

If I'm chasing after someone, I doubt I would notice a bag of weed sitting on your table.

If I have a search warrant, that means I am not rushed and more than likely will spot your pot. If that is the case, the pot gets seized, you get cuffed and someone else might be back with a different search warrant.

ok two scenarios, (1st) you dont have a search warrant and you are chasing said perp through my yard and into my house. running through my house you spot contraband on my kitchen table. (2nd scenario) you need a search warrant to search my property for a previous crime (perp running through my property and drops gun) and you walk into my shed in my yard and go through the drawers and cabinets and find some contraband. my question is, what would happen to me the homeowner?

[Steve in PA]

Originally Posted by bogey1

ok two scenarios, (1st) you dont have a search warrant and you are chasing said perp through my yard and into my house. running through my house you spot contraband on my kitchen table. (2nd scenario) you need a search warrant to search my property for a previous crime (perp running through my property and drops gun) and you walk into my shed in my yard and go through the drawers and cabinets and find some contraband. my question is, what would happen to me the homeowner?

First scenario, the contraband can be seized, you can be arrested and a search warrant might be granted to search your residence. A small baggie of pot is probably not going to satisfy a judge in granting a search warrant. A large garbage bag, scales, smaller baggies, etc........yeah, a search warrant will be forth coming.

Second scenario, if I was chasing the guy and he dropped a gun I do not need a search warrant to look for the gun in your yard or any other yard he ran through.

If I thought the gun was in your yard, why would I search your garage, shed outhouse, etc? Did the guy run through these? Did I see the guy run in with the gun, but come out without it? Is the pursuit fresh, meaning the whole event is happening right now?

Say we caught the guy and did a quick look but can't find the gun. Lets say I come back tomorrow and ask to search the garage, etc. and you say no, but I have reason to believe he may have hidden the gun in there. Based on your refusal, I'll obtain a search warrant. Of course an officer will more than likely be posted to make sure no one goes in our out of the garage or removes anything.

I would have to articulate in the search warrant what I was searching for, where it might be and why I think it might be there. If during my search for the gun I find contraband..............guess what? It gets seized, you get cuffed.......yadda, yadda. The fact that I'm not specifically searching for the contraband doesn't mean I ignore it.

[policemedic]

Originally Posted by Steve in PA

Say we caught the guy and did a quick look but can't find the gun. Lets say I come back tomorrow and ask to search the garage, etc. and you say no, but I have reason to believe he may have hidden the gun in there. Based on your refusal, I'll obtain a search warrant. Of course an officer will more than likely be posted to make sure no one goes in our out of the garage or removes anything.

Just to clarify, and emphasize the point, if the initial search at oh-dark-thirty didn't turn up anything and we wanted to check in daylight to be sure we didn't miss anything (like a gun that a kid could pick up, or that would link the bad guy to 33 homicides in Oklahoma, yada yada) you can rest assured that an officer would be posted before we left for the night.

This protects the scene, ensures any evidence found will likely be admissible, and protects the homeowner to an extent as well.

Steve is absolutely right when he says we don't need a warrant to go through your yard if we're searching for a fugitive (did it a few nights ago), or to run into your home/business/office if we're right on his ass and saw him go in. Anything we find is fair game. How we proceed will be based on the overall circumstances.

[billy870m9]

im sorry but i think im confused.....why are people upset about police going into their yard while looking for a suspect????? if they are in my yard id be more than happy to let the cops come in and get them, why not.....let them chase and get them so they dont have the chance to break into my house so i dont need to handle it and all that comes with that situation.....