State v. Kowal, 79-105-C
| Decision Date | 09 December 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 79-105-C,79-105-C |
| Citation | 423 A.2d 1380 |
| Parties | STATE v. Frank Jacob KOWAL. A. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This case comes before us on appeal by the defendant, Frank Jacob Kowal, from a judgment of conviction in the Superior Court on six counts of illegal possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver, and one count of receiving stolen goods, to wit, assorted pharmaceutical drugs and implements of a value in excess of $500 in violation of G. L. 1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 11-41-2. The single issue raised on appeal is the validity of a search warrant which authorized the search of "(a) one story wood frame dwelling color white, numbered 9 Anderson Avenue, Coventry, R. I." The search warrant is challenged on the ground that it fails to describe with particularity the place for which probable cause to search had been established. The defendant asserts that the instant search warrant failed properly to limit the scope of the search. We are of the opinion that this search warrant described the premises to be searched and the things to be seized with reasonable specificity in the light of the probable cause presented to the issuing Justice of the District Court. The facts pertaining to the resolution of this issue are as follows.
In September 1976, more than 500,000 dosage units of various controlled substances were stolen from the Wyeth Laboratories in Andover, Massachusetts. Detective Sergeant Richard P. Sullivan, who was then in charge of the narcotics unit of the Rhode Island State Police, became engaged in an investigation together with officers of the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration in order to locate this quantity of drugs, whose approximate wholesale value was estimated at $134,000. As a culmination of his investigation, Sergeant Sullivan applied for a search warrant and in support of his application submitted an affidavit, which reads in pertinent part:
The defendant argues that the affidavit clearly discloses that this dwelling house was divided into two units; the upper level was rented to one Barbara Cipolla, and the defendant retained jurisdiction over the cellar level for his own personal and business storage. He thus contends that a search warrant directed to the entire dwelling unit was a violation of the requirements of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and art. I, sec. 6 of the Declaration of Rights contained in the Constitution of the State of Rhode Island, as well as G. L. 1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-5-3, 1 all of which require that every search warrant shall particularly describe the place to be searched. State v. Joseph, 114 R.I....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Pratt
...a judicial officer may draw reasonable inferences from the affidavit in order to reach a determination of probable cause, State v. Kowal, 423 A.2d 1380, 1383 (R.I.1980). In reviewing the propriety of a search warrant, the reviewing court's duty " 'is simply to ensure that the magistrate had......
-
Henshaw v. Doherty
...beyond a reasonable doubt or even proof that might establish a prima facie case sufficient to be submitted to a jury."); State v. Kowal, 423 A.2d 1380, 1383 (R.I.1980); see also State v. Verrecchia, 880 A.2d 89, 94 n. 15 (R.I.2005) ("It should go without saying that a finding of `probable c......
-
State v. Ricci
...of each case will permit. See Andresen v. Maryland, 427 U.S. 463, 480, 96 S.Ct. 2737, 2748, 49 L.Ed.2d 627, 642 (1976); State v. Kowal, R.I., 423 A.2d 1380, 1382 (1980). We conclude from our independent examination of the search warrant that the description of jewelry to be seized was We re......
-
State v. Hightower
...shotgun and an automatic handgun) as well as other evidence would probably be found in the Maple Avenue office. See State v. Kowal, 423 A.2d 1380, 1383 (R.I.1980). These inferences need not rise to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt but only to establish probable cause. Id.; State......