State v. Thomas
| Decision Date | 19 October 1971 |
| Citation | 7 Or.App. 50,489 P.2d 962 |
| Parties | STATE of Oregon, Appellant, v. James Gregory THOMAS, and Gary Alan Thomas, Respondents. |
| Court | Oregon Court of Appeals |
W. Michael Gillette, Asst. Atty. General, Salem, argued the cause for appellant. With him on the brief were Lee Johnson Atty. Gen., and John W. Osburn, Sol. Gen., Salem.
Jane Edwards, Portland, argued the cause for respondents. On the brief was Keith Burns, Portland.
Before SCHWAB, C.J., and LANGTRY and THORNTON, JJ.
This is an appeal by the state, pursuant to ORS 138.060(4), from a pretrial order granting the defendants' motion to suppress evidence. The question presented is whether the affidavit filed in application for a search warrant disclosed probable cause to support the issuance of a warrant.
In pertinent part, the affidavit stated:
'I, William J. Budrius, Being first duly sworn, on oath, depose and say,
'That I am a police officer employed by the City of Portland, assigned to Narcotics Detail;
'That I spoke with a confidential reliable informant who told me that on August 1, 1970, the informant was present inside the premises at 128 SE 22nd Avenue, where the informant observed a large quantity of substances which was referred to by unknown persons inside the said premises as 'marihuana' and 'LSD', and that the informant observed unknown persons purchasing and using quantities of the said marihuana and LSD at the above premises on August 1, 1970;
'That on August 3, 1970, I spoke with the said informant who told me that the informant was present inside the above described premises within the past twenty-four (24) hours, and that the informant observed a quantity in excess of two (2) kilos of a substance which persons inside the premises told the said informant was marihuana, as well as a quantity of a substance which persons told the said informant was 'acid';
'* * *
'That I believe the said confidential reliable informant to be reliable because within the past two (2) years the said informant has furnished me with information leading to the conviction of three (3) persons on narcotics charges, and that within the past week the said informant has furnished me with information leading to seven (7) arrests of persons on charges of Illegal Possession of Narcotics and Illegal Possession of Dangerous Drugs, and that searches of the defendants incident to the above-mentioned seven (7) arrests resulted in seizures of quantities of narcotics or Dangerous Drugs in every instance * * *.'
The facts in the affidavit, together with the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, constitute a sufficient showing of probable cause. The facts are the informer: 1 had been instrumental in several prior narcotics arrests; was twice in the premises in question; on the first occasion saw substances being purchased and used as if they were narcotics; on the second occasion 'observed a quantity in excess of two (2) kilos' of something; and on both occasions the substances in question were referred to as narcotics.
The reasonable inferences to be...
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State v. Castilleja
...would store wet marijuana in plastic bags in his or her closet. 7. The facts in this case are analogous to the facts in State v. Thomas, 7 Or.App. 50, 489 P.2d 962 (1971), in which we reversed the trial court's suppression of the evidence for lack of probable cause. In that case, the inform......
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State v. Age, 77-128
...P.2d 912 (1976), looking at both the facts it recites and the reasonable inferences that can be drawn from those facts. State v. Thomas, 7 Or.App. 50, 489 P.2d 962 (1971). A reasonable inference that can be drawn from the facts stated in the affidavit is that the informant talked to Alan Hi......
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State v. Ashkar
...a sufficient showing of probable cause to believe that the narcotic drug heroin was present in the residence. State v. Thomas, 7 Or.App. 50, 489 P.2d 962 (1971). A court should not invalidate a warrant by interpreting an affidavit in an overly-technical manner. United States v. Ventresca, 3......
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State v. Marraccini
...and filed the brief for respondent. Before SCHWAB, C.J., and FOLEY and FORT, JJ. PER CURIAM. This is a companion case to State v. Thomas, Or.App., 489 P.2d 962. Reversed and ...