State v. Peterson

• Decision Date: 05 September 1991
• Docket Number: CA-CR,No. 1,1
• Citation: 171 Ariz. 333,830 P.2d 854
• Parties: STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Floyd Orville PETERSON, Appellant. 89-1299.
• Court: Arizona Court of Appeals

Page 854

830 P.2d 854

171 Ariz. 333

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Floyd Orville PETERSON, Appellant.

No. 1 CA-CR 89-1299.

Court of Appeals of Arizona,

Division 1, Department E.

Sept. 5, 1991.

As Corrected Sept. 5, 1991.

Review Denied June 16, 1992. ^*

[171 Ariz. 334] Grant Woods, Atty. Gen. by Paul J. McMurdie, Chief Counsel, Crim. Div., and Jack Roberts, Asst. Atty. Gen., Phoenix, for appellee.

Kathleen A. Kelly, Phoenix, for appellant.

OPINION

CLABORNE, Presiding Judge.

Does the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule permit the introduction of evidence obtained through an invalid arrest warrant? The trial court answered in the affirmative. Under the circumstances presented in this case, we reverse.

Floyd Orville Peterson (appellant) was charged with theft of property with a value in excess of $1,000.00, a class 3 felony in violation of A.R.S. § 13-1802. A jury found appellant guilty of one count of knowingly possessing property of another with a value of $500.00 or more, but less than $1,000.00, a class 4 felony. The trial court suspended the imposition of sentence and placed appellant on probation for two years.

Before trial, appellant moved to suppress evidence found in his home on the ground that it was the fruit of an illegal arrest. The trial court denied the motion and, after conviction, the appellant appealed challenging this ruling.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On September 12, 1987, a caretaker reported that the home of John Jackson located outside of Flagstaff had been burglarized sometime within the preceding ten days. Various household items, including a commercial meat slicer, a milk separator, and a dinette set, were determined to have been stolen. Investigation of the case was assigned to Detective Gilbert Moreno of the Coconino County Sheriff's Department. The detective focused on appellant as a possible suspect because he and a companion had toured the Jackson property with a real estate agent on September 10.

When the officer ran a computer check with the Arizona Criminal Information Center (ACIC), he received information that appellant was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant, issued in 1982, for failure to return rental property. The detective confirmed the existence of the warrant by having a fellow officer check with the originating agency, the Flagstaff Police Department. The detective did not attempt to contact the Flagstaff Justice Court which had issued the warrant. Detective Moreno accompanied four other officers to appellant's cabin to effect the arrest on the 1982 warrant. Officer Moreno testified that, by participating in the arrest, he hoped that he would be able to observe property stolen in the burglary of the Jackson residence when he was inside appellant's cabin.

While inside the cabin at the time of the arrest, Detective Moreno observed a milk separator, a meat slicer, and a dinette set similar to those reported stolen from the Jackson home. The detective incorporated this information, along with a report of the property reported stolen and the fact that appellant had been on the Jackson premises prior to the discovery of the break-in, in a search warrant affidavit presented to a superior court judge. The search warrant was issued and served on October 28. The property previously observed by Detective Moreno was seized, identified by John Jackson, and ultimately introduced as evidence at trial.

Testimony at the hearing on appellant's motion to suppress focused on the 1982 arrest warrant. Harry W. Bailey, a records custodian for the Flagstaff Police Department, testified that the arrest warrant had been quashed and removed from the system in 1982. He said, "[S]omehow, this warrant re-appeared in our records section on 2-13 of '87, and it was re-entered [in the computer system]." According to Bailey, the police department never determined how or why the warrant re-appeared for entry into the computer system. Bailey said: "It's an error on our part as far as putting it back in."

In response to the trial judge's inquiry, the state conceded that the arrest warrant was invalid and the fruits of the arrest, including Detective Moreno's observations at appellant's cabin, would have to be suppressed unless the court found that the arrest was made in "good faith" reliance on the existence of the warrant. After receiving supplemental briefing on the issue of good faith, the trial judge denied appellant's motion without further comment.

DISCUSSION

Appellant argues that the trial court erred in not granting his motion to suppress the evidence seized at his home. He contends that because the arrest warrant used to gain access to his home was invalid, the search warrant issued on the basis of information gained through the arrest warrant was likewise invalid. As such, appellant argues that the evidence seized in his home should have been suppressed.

The police may not arrest an individual absent probable cause. U.S. Const. amend IV. Probable cause to arrest exists if the police have "reasonable grounds to believe that an offense is being or has been committed by the person arrested...." State v. Lawson, 144 Ariz. 547, 553, 698 P.2d 1266, 1272 (1985) (quoting State v. Torrez, 112 Ariz. 525, 527, 544 P.2d 207, 209 (1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 916, 96 S.Ct. 1517, 47 L.Ed.2d 767 (1976). The totality of the facts and circumstances determines whether probable cause is present and it may be established by the collective knowledge of all law enforcement personnel involved. Lawson, 144 Ariz. at 553, 698 P.2d at 1272.

The authority of police officers to arrest an individual based upon information received from other officers is restricted by Whiteley v. Warden, 401 U.S. 560, 91 S.Ct. 1031, 28 L.Ed.2d 306 (1971). The court recognized that officers called upon to aid other law enforcement officers effecting an arrest warrant are entitled to assume that the instigating officers were acting upon a proper determination of probable cause. Id. at 568, 91 S.Ct. at 1037. However, when the instigating officers lack a proper determination of probable cause, an otherwise illegal arrest is not insulated from challenge based upon the arresting officer's reliance that the warrant was obtained with the requisite probable cause. Id.

Arizona courts have since applied this rule, finding arrests illegal when the originating officers lacked probable cause, see, e.g., State v. Richards, 110 Ariz. 290, 518 P.2d 113 (1974), and upholding them when probable cause was present. See, e.g., State v. Crivellone, 138 Ariz. 437, 675 P.2d 697 (1983). In State v. Brennan, 22 Ariz.App. 471, 528 P.2d 857 (1974), we considered facts much like the one now before us. The defendant was convicted of possession of marijuana found during his arrest on a warrant for failure to appear for a traffic citation. We found the arrest warrant invalid because it was not issued upon a sworn complaint approved by a magistrate. Id. at 473, 528 P.2d at 859. As a result, we held the search of the defendant was invalid because it was the product of the warrantless arrest. Id.

Erroneous computer information cases regarding the existence of a valid warrant have fared no better. A majority of the decisions have held the arrest and the accompanying search invalid. See United States v. Mackey, 387 F.Supp. 1121 (D.Nev.1975); People v. Ramirez, 34 Cal.3d 541, 194 Cal.Rptr. 454, 668 P.2d 761 (1983); Pesci v. State, 420 So.2d 380 (Fla.App.1982); People v. Joseph, 128 Ill.App.3d 668, 83 Ill.Dec. 883, 470 N.E.2d 1303 (1984); People v. Lawson, 119 Ill.App.3d 42, 74 Ill.Dec. 668, 456 N.E.2d 170 (1983); People v. Decuir, 84 Ill.App.3d 531, 39 Ill.Dec. 912, 405 N.E.2d 891 (1980); People v. Jennings, 54 N.Y.2d 518, 446 N.Y.S.2d 229, 430 N.E.2d 1282 (1981); People v. Watson, 100 App.Div.2d 452, 474 N.Y.S.2d 978 (1984); People v. Lent, 92 App.Div.2d 941, 460 N.Y.S.2d 369 (1983); State v. Trenidad, 23 Wash.App. 418, 595 P.2d 957 (1979). In most of these cases, the courts have relied upon Whiteley, supra, in reaching this result. In those cases where the arrest has been upheld despite erroneous information regarding the existence of a warrant or other basis for the stop, the courts have emphasized the short period of time that the police records had been outdated. Annotation, Validity of Arrest Made in Reliance Upon Uncorrected or Outdated Warrant List or Similar Police Records, 45 A.L.R. 4 th 550, 554 (1986). See Childress v. United States, 381 A.2d 614 (D.C.App.1977) (traffic warrants had been satisfied four days prior to arrest); Patterson v. United States, 301 A.2d 67 (D.C.App.1973) (police notified of correct information fifteen hours prior to stop); Commonwealth v. Riley, 284 Pa.Super. 280, 425 A.2d 813 (1981) (arrest warrant satisfied four days earlier).

Here, the police relied on an arrest warrant which was issued and quashed five years before the incident being investigated! The state recognizes that the arrest warrant was invalid, but maintains that the seizure should be upheld because the officers' reliance on the arrest warrant was objectively reasonable and in good faith. The good faith exception to the exclusionary rule is set forth in A.R.S. § 13-3925, and under the analysis contained in United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984).

A. "Good Faith" Under A.R.S. § 13-3925

A.R.S. § 13-3925 provides in pertinent part:

A. If a party in a criminal proceeding seeks to exclude evidence from the trier of fact because of the conduct of a peace officer in obtaining the evidence, the proponent of the evidence may urge that the peace officer's conduct was taken in a reasonable, good faith belief that the conduct was proper and that the evidence discovered should not be kept from the trier of fact if otherwise admissible.

B. The trial court shall not suppress evidence which is otherwise admissible in a criminal proceeding if the court determines that the evidence was seized by a peace officer as a result...