U.S. v. Good

• Decision Date: 10 January 1986
• Docket Number: No. 85-1074,85-1074
• Citation: 780 F.2d 773
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Larry GOOD, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 773

780 F.2d 773

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Larry GOOD, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 85-1074.

United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted Sept. 10, 1985.

Decided Jan. 10, 1986.

Geoffrey A. Hansen, Asst. Federal Public Defender, Fernando Aenlle-Rocha-Law Student Intern, San Francisco, Cal., for defendant-appellant.

Sanford Svetcov, Asst. U.S. Atty., San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Before WALLACE, HUG, and SCHROEDER, Circuit Judges.

WALLACE, Circuit Judge:

Good appeals his conviction on two counts for the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C.App. Sec. 1202(a)(1). He argues that the entry and search of his home and truck without a warrant were illegal and that critical evidence seized should have been suppressed. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291, and we affirm.

I

On August 17, 1984, while at the home of Susan Wallace, John Snyder, Wallace, Good, and Sharon Bullock, with whom Good lived, became involved in a drunken altercation as a result of Snyder's improper sexual advances towards Bullock. After Good retrieved a revolver from his truck, he and Snyder engaged in a fight during which Good pistol-whipped Snyder, and in which both Snyder and Bullock were stabbed. Good and Bullock then left Wallace's home, and Wallace contacted a neighbor who called the police.

When the police arrived, they found that Snyder had been stabbed and saw two pools of blood on the floor. Both Snyder and Wallace were intoxicated, but made it clear that Good's female companion also had been stabbed, that not all of the blood on the floor was Snyder's, and that Bullock had left with Good. Snyder said that he believed Bullock was in danger. They also gave the police a description of Good and his truck.

Approximately four hours later, shortly before 9:00 a.m., an officer saw a truck matching Snyder's description parked in the driveway of Good's house. The officers entered Good's house without a warrant, arrested Good, and seized a rifle as Good was reaching for it. After the arrest, an officer looked into the truck and saw a revolver partially protruding from under the seat. The officer entered the truck and seized the revolver. The rifle and revolver were the weapons involved in Good's convictions.

II

Good first argues that he was unlawfully arrested and the rifle improperly seized because the officers lacked exigent circumstances when they entered his home without a warrant. We review the district court's finding of exigent circumstances de novo. United States v. McConney, 728 F.2d 1195, 1204-05 (9th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 101, 83 L.Ed.2d 46 (1984) (McConney ). We review the district court's findings of fact and determinations of credibility, however, under the clearly erroneous standard. United States v. Hicks, 752 F.2d 379, 383 (9th Cir.1985).

Good relies on the asserted absence of credible facts to support a finding of exigency. The record, however, clearly establishes that the officers reasonably thought that a woman in Good's company had been stabbed and had lost blood, but were unaware of the extent of her injuries. The fact that Snyder and Wallace were intoxicated when they talked with the police is probative only of their credibility and the reliability of their statements. In this instance, the district court did not err in concluding that the police could rely upon them.

Good's argument based upon the absence of evidence regarding his propensity for violence, the silence at his home, and the officers' failure to ascertain that the female victim lived with Good ignores the salient fact giving rise to exigency--the undisputed existence of a stabbing victim who left with him from Wallace's home. We have defined exigent circumstances as circumstances involving "a substantial risk of harm to the persons involved," United States v. Robertson, 606 F.2d 853, 859 (9th Cir.1979), in which "a reasonable person [would] believe that entry ... was necessary to prevent physical harm to the officers or other persons." McConney, 728 F.2d at 1199. The district judge did not err in concluding that the facts in this case gave rise to exigent circumstances. The officers thought that a woman had been stabbed, they had seen the blood on the floor and knew a drunken, violent confrontation had taken place. They were told that the female victim left with Good and that she was in danger. Contrary to Good's assertions, these facts give rise to "more than an officer's anxiety." McConney, 728 F.2d at 1206. The officers reasonably could conclude that someone with Good had been seriously injured and that entry was necessary to assist the injured person.

Exigent circumstances alone, however, are insufficient as the government must also show that a warrant could not have been obtained in time. United States v. Manfredi, 722 F.2d 519, 522 (9th Cir.1...