Second Degree Burglary [Choctaw County, OK]

Case Dismissed

Criminal Charge: Second Degree Burglary
Case: State v. Kristopher Minter
Court: [CF-07-106, Choctaw County]
Result: Case Dismissed
Docket View:  See the digital docket sheet reflecting Kris’s dismissed felony charge


Summary:

Based on the alleged tip of an alleged accomplice, Hugo PD went to Kris’s home to question him about his involvement in a home burglary in which several household items were taken.

When the officers arrived, however, no one was home. Instead, the police contended the front and back doors to the home were ajar. The officers justifed searching Kris’s home without a warrant by saying they went inside to satisfy themselves that no one was burglarizing HIS home. Of course, the police contended they recovered some of the household items alleged to have been stolen while they were securing Kris’s home and charged him with the burglary. When Kris’s mother arrived on the scene, the police obtained permission from her to search the house…..

Haslam moved to suppress the search under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and cited the many, many cases on the books that outline the police’s authority to make warrantless entry of a home in such a situation. At the evidentiary hearing on the motion, the officer admitted there was no alarm, no complaining neighbor, no indication of movement indoors, no reason he could not simply secure the premises and obtain a warrant, and no evidence of a break-in. He argued the so-called consent obtained AFTER the search was insufficient to “purge the taint” of the original lawless search.

The court sustained the motion to suppress and dismissed the charges against Kris.