People v. LaRocco, 25465
| Citation | 178 Colo. 196,496 P.2d 314 |
| Decision Date | 24 April 1972 |
| Docket Number | No. 25465,25465 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Dominic LaROCCO, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Colorado |
Jarvis W. Seccombe, Dist. Atty., Jon Holm, Coleman M. Connolly, Deputy Dist. Attys., Denver, for plaintiff-appellant.
Alex Stephen Keller, Denver, for defendant-appellee.
This is an interlocutory appeal under C.A.R. 4.1, brought by the People to reverse an order of the Denver District Court granting appellee's motion to suppress evidence. We affirm the order of suppression.
Appellee was charged with the crime of forgery of an Illinois operator's license, under C.R.S.1963, 40--6--1. The motion for suppression was directed toward an allegedly forged Illinois driver's license and a blank Illinois driver's license form, which were seized during a search of the premises known as the Banjo Bar, 1761 Market Street, Denver, Colorado.
The search was conducted pursuant to a search warrant which specified many items to be seized, among which were included stolen property, burglary tools, cement finishing tools, guns, ammunition, utility bills, rent receipts, and papers establishing the identity of the person in control of the Banjo Bar. The warrant did not specify the Illinois driver's license or blank driver's license form which were the subject of the motion to suppress. These documents thus seized formed the basis of the criminal information charging the appellee with the crime of forgery.
The motion to suppress was based upon two grounds: first, the items seized were not described in the search warrant; and, second, the items seized were not contraband, the possession of which was illegal. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court found that the two items in question were not listed in the search warrant, were not contraband, had nothing to do with the criminal activity under investigation referred to in the affidavit supporting the search warrant, and could not therefore be lawfully seized. The motion to suppress was therefore granted.
The record of proceedings in the trial court shows that after appellee's motion to suppress was granted an interlocutory appeal was initiated in this Court. This was later dismissed on motion of the People when it was indicated the trial court would permit a rehearing on the motion to suppress. The court on rehearing reaffirmed its previous order granting the motion to suppress. It has been necessary to examine the record lodged in the first interlocutory appeal, as well as that supplied for this appeal, in order that a complete review might be made of the issues raised by the People.
The records show that Officers Mulnix and Grubb were assigned to the organized crime unit in the Denver Police Department and participated in the search of the Banjo Bar with other officers. They were not present when the search was initially commenced, being engaged in other duties. Officer Mulnix testified that while on the way to the Banjo Bar Officer Grubb advised him to be on the lookout for forged Illinois driver's licenses, and, in particular, one that had been allegedly forged by the defendant for Jane Dodge, a minor, who needed the license in her stage name of Susan Lampe, showing that she was over the age of 21 years. Mulnix testified he did not have probable cause to believe the driver's license would be located at the Banjo Bar. He stated that he searched the area behind the bar, presumably looking for papers to identify the person in control of the Banjo Bar, and that he found the driver's license in the name of Susan Lampe and the blank license form in an open cigar box located near the cash register on the backbar. The cigar box contained other papers and miscellaneous items.
At no time did the defendant attack the...
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People v. Hedrick
...constitutional requirements is on the prosecution. See, e.g., Mora v. People, 178 Colo. 279, 496 P.2d 1045 (1972); People v. LaRocco, 178 Colo. 196, 496 P.2d 314 (1972); People v. Moreno, 176 Colo. 488, 491 P.2d 575 (1971); People v. Chacon, 177 Colo. 368, 494 P.2d 79 (1972); People v. Ware......
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...have taken an unduly restrictive approach to plain view seizure during a search pursuant to warrant. Thus, in People v. LaRocco, 178 Colo. 196, 496 P.2d 314 (1972), upon which the district court principally relied in its suppression ruling, we upheld the suppression of an allegedly forged I......
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...People v. Renfrow, 172 Colo. 399, 473 P.2d 957.' See also Blincoe v. People, 178 Colo. 34, 494 P.2d 1285 (1972); People v. LaRocco, 178 Colo. 196, 496 P.2d 314 (1972), and Alire v. People, 157 Colo. 103, 402 P.2d 610 Any inferences which may be drawn from People v. Boileau, 36 Colo.App. 157......
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State v. Williams
...was unreasonable and violative of the Fourth Amendment. Accord, United States v. Gray (C.A.6, 1973), 484 F.2d 352. In People v. LaRocco (1972), 178 Colo. 196, 496 P.2d 314, the state appealed the granting of defendant's motion to suppress evidence. During a search conducted pursuant to a wa......