U.S. v. Spanier
| Decision Date | 19 January 1977 |
| Docket Number | 76-2175,Nos. 76-2174,s. 76-2174 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Joseph Harlin SPANIER, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. John Michael FOLKERTS, Appellant. Ninth Circuit |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Irwin H. Schwartz, Seattle, Wash., for appellant.
Jerald E. Olson, Asst. U. S. Atty., Seattle, Wash., for appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Before ELY, CARTER, and GOODWIN, Circuit Judges.
The principal issue in these consolidated appeals is whether certain evidence incriminating to Folkerts and Spanier in their bank-robbery trial should have been suppressed.
Two armed men wearing ski masks robbed a Seattle bank and left the scene in an automobile. Witnesses reported the license number of the car to the police. A few minutes after the robbery, the reported automobile was found parked in front of a house about a mile from the bank. A ski mask was observed inside the car. After the officers had surrounded the house, Folkerts ran outside, was shot at, and ran back inside. The officers next saw smoke and sparks come out of the chimney. Then two men, one woman, and two children emerged from the house and surrendered to the police. Officers then entered the house to see if anyone else was inside. While in the house, the officers observed smoking paper in the fireplace. Some officers guarded the house while other officers went to a magistrate for a search warrant. With the warrant, they returned and searched the house.
The search produced a burned corner of a five dollar bill, two pistols, some pistol ammunition, clothing, and a quantity of fireplace ashes. The ski mask was taken from the parked car. The car was impounded, and when later examined for fingerprints, it yielded a print of Folkerts.
The arrest of Folkerts and Spanier was based upon the facts previously noted. These facts supplied probable cause, and the arrest was legal without a warrant. The search of the house, with a warrant, was also lawful.
The appellants argue that the first entry into the house, to check whether additional confederates were inside, was illegal because made without a warrant. This conclusion does not follow. It is true that the officers had control of the only two bank robbers they knew about before any officer entered the house, but they had no reason to believe that the robbers were acting alone, or that everyone connected with the crime had left the house. It was not only prudent to check the house for additional...
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