Oregon Appellate Ct - May 6, 2015

by: Abassos • May 6, 2015 • no comments

Search Warrant - Probable Cause - Possession of a Firearm After a Shooting

The following facts do not constitute probable cause in an affidavit for a warrant to search a car after what was believed to be a gang shooting:

• The passenger was shot.
• The car was used to drive the passenger to the hospital.
• Defendant, the owner of the car, drove the passenger to the hospital.
• Defendant was nervous when questioned by police.
• Someone in a group of people around the passenger at the time of the shooting had returned fire.
• The passenger denied that anyone he was with fired a gun.
• The officer's training and experience told her that people involved in the unlawful use of firearms often leave evidence in their vehicles.

However, such facts establish only a mere possibility, not a probability that evidence would be found in the vehicle. Ultimately, "all that the facts establish is that [the passenger] was a shooting victim and that defendant came to [the passenger's] aid. That does not give rise to a reasonable probability that either man committed a crime or possessed a firearm, let alone placed evidence of a firearm crime in defendant’s vehicle." Reversed and remanded. State v Williams, 270 Or App 721 (2015).