State v. Allen, 46116
| Decision Date | 21 February 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 46116,46116 |
| Citation | 93 Wn.2d 170,606 P.2d 1235 |
| Court | Washington Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Jerry ALLEN, Petitioner. |
Michael Schwab, Yakima, for petitioner.
Jeffrey Sullivan, Pros. Atty., Michael McGuigan, Deputy Pros. Atty., Yakima, for respondent.
Petitioner Allen appealed a Yakima County Superior Court conviction for possession of a controlled substance (heroin), which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. Allen challenges rulings of the trial court in refusing to suppress certain evidence and in refusing to examine an undisclosed informant in camera. We granted discriminatory review and we reverse.
In the early evening of December 18, 1975, under authority of a search warrant, members of the Yakima City-County Narcotics Unit were in the process of searching a designated residence and the persons of certain identified individuals. At about 6 p. m., during the course of the search, petitioner Allen knocked on the door. An officer, answering the knock, informed Allen that a search was being conducted and asked for identification. Allen gave his name and stated that he had left his identification in the car. The officer then conducted a pat-down search of Allen. Feeling a bulge in the inside coat pocket, he removed a wallet. It was testified that when asked who owned the billfold, Allen replied that he did not know. The officer then opened it and in the course of rummaging through the wallet, he came across a dollar bill folded in a "pharmaceutical fold." The folded bill was opened and found to contain a small quantity of what was eventually determined to be heroin. No other narcotics were found on the premises or on the individuals named in the warrant. Allen's Oregon driver's license was also in the billfold.
Allen was arrested and charged with possession of heroin under RCW 69.50.401. He moved to suppress the heroin and also for an in camera examination of the informant upon whose information the original search warrant was issued. Following a suppression hearing, both motions were denied.
Allen was tried to the court April 19, 1976, found guilty of unlawful possession, and on February 8, 1977 was sentenced to a maximum of 5 years. Although a number of issues were raised on appeal, we need consider only the legality of the "pat and frisk."
Under the circumstances of this case, was it reasonable to search the contents of the wallet found in the course of a "pat and frisk" of one who knocked on the door of a residence while the police were conducting a search under the authority of a search warrant? The State makes no claim that there was probable cause to arrest Allen upon his arrival at the searched premises. The pat-down of Allen and the removal of his wallet from an inside pocket were not incident to a lawful arrest. Since he does not challenge his pat-down, we need not determine whether, under the circumstances of this case, the officer was within the ambit of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), when he admitted Allen to the house and then proceeded to frisk him. Yabarra v. Illinois, --- U.S. ----, 100 S.Ct. 338, 62 L.Ed.2d 238 (1979).
Assuming the legality of the frisk, the discovery of an unidentified "bulge" in the course of the pat-down would...
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...654 P.2d 96; Hudson, 124 Wash.2d at 112, 874 P.2d 160; State v. Hobart, 94 Wash.2d 437, 447, 617 P.2d 429 (1980); State v. Allen, 93 Wash.2d 170, 172-73, 606 P.2d 1235 (1980). 6. If there was an articulable basis to believe contraband had been hidden in the passenger's belongings, this migh......
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...Simpson, 95 Wash.2d at 175, 622 P.2d 1199 ).2 The rule applies to searches as well as seizures. See, e.g., State v. Allen, 93 Wash.2d 170, 172-73, 606 P.2d 1235 (1980).¶11 Peck and Tellvik have automatic standing to challenge the inventory search. The first prong of the test is satisfied be......
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...defendant's coat jacket was unlawful, since officer had no reason to suspect that defendant was armed or dangerous); State v. Allen, 93 Wash.2d 170, 606 P.2d 1235 (1980) (where frisk established that bulge in defendant's pocket was wallet, officer exceeded permissible bounds of frisk by loo......
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...Ct. at 343. Moreover, the search must be limited to ascertaining whether the individual is armed. State v. Allen, 93 Wash. 2d 170, 172, 606 P.2d 1235, 1236 (1980) (officer conducting patdown of individual who knocked on door of residence being searched may not examine contents of wallet fou......
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...Ct. at 343. Moreover, the search must be limited to ascertaining whether the individual is armed. State v. Allen, 93 Wash. 2d 170, 172, 606 P.2d 1235, 1236 (1980) (officer conducting patdown of individual who knocked on door of residence being searched may not examine contents of wallet fou......
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...narcotic searches are often armed). Moreover, the search must be limited to ascertaining whether the individual is armed. State v. Allen, 93 Wn.2d 170, 172, 606 P.2d 1235, 1236 (1980) (en banc) (holding that an officer conducting a pat-down of an individual who knocked on the door of a resi......
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