Andron Deshawn Petteway v. State of Texas, 11-11-00148-CR

Appellant pled guilty to possession of cocaine in a drug-free zone under a plea bargain; punishment fixed at seven years’ confinement.
Appellant appeals the denial of his pretrial motion to suppress evidence obtained via a search warrant.
Officer Jaimes executed a warrant on Appellant’s residence based on information from a confidential informant.
The probable cause affidavit asserted the informant was credible, reliable, had previously supplied true information, and observed Appellant with cocaine within 48 hours of issuance.
The court reviews the magistrate’s probable cause determination under a deferential standard and held the warrant supported probable cause.
The trial court’s judgment is affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the informant-based probable cause supported the warrant	Petteway argues informant credibility was lacking	State contends affidavit established reliability and nexus	Probable cause found; warrant valid

Avery v. State, 545 S.W.2d 803 (Tex. Crim. App. 1977) (informant reliability may be established by prior reliability without corroboration)
Capistran v. State, 759 S.W.2d 121 (Tex. Crim. App. 1982) (informant reliability can be asserted by general statements of prior reliability)
Torres v. State, 552 S.W.2d 821 (Tex. Crim. App. 1977) (informant credibility can be based on past proven information)
Rodriguez v. State, 232 S.W.3d 55 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (probable cause is evaluated with totality of circumstances)
Gates v. Illinois, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) (flexible, commonsensical standard for probable cause)
McLain v. State, 337 S.W.3d 268 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (review of warrant probable cause under deference to magistrate; four-corners rule)
Hankins v. State, 132 S.W.3d 380 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004) (affirmative deferential standard for magistrate’s decision to issue a warrant)
Duarte v. State, 389 S.W.3d 349 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) (first-time informant corroboration considerations)