Barrett v. Commonwealth, 470 S.W.3d 337

Police received an anonymous tip that Ricky Barrett was at 2721 Rosina Ave.; dispatch confirmed prior contact at that address and that arrest warrants existed for Barrett. Barrett lived at the residence (though not the record owner).
Officers arrived, circled the house, heard voices and sounds inside, knocked and announced their presence; sounds stopped but no one answered.
An officer used a flashlight to knock; the front door then opened slightly, and officers announced again and entered to locate Barrett pursuant to outstanding arrest warrants.
Inside, officers encountered Deborah Barrett ( homeowner/stepmother), who told them Ricky was hiding upstairs in a closet; officers proceeded to the second floor to search for him.
While searching an upstairs bedroom near the hallway, an officer observed syringes and drug paraphernalia in plain view; officers then located and arrested Ricky in a hallway closet.
Barrett moved to suppress the paraphernalia; the trial court denied the motion, the Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Kentucky Supreme Court granted review and affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of initial entry to home to execute arrest warrant	Barrett: entry/search violated Fourth Amendment/Ky. Const.; police lacked authority to enter without higher standard	Commonwealth: arrest warrant + tip, recent contact at address, sounds inside, and silence after knock gave officers "reason to believe" Barrett was inside	Court: Adopted Payton "reason to believe" (less than probable cause); factual circumstances satisfied that standard; initial entry lawful
Scope of search upstairs and admissibility of paraphernalia	Barrett: search exceeded lawful scope; evidence was fruit of unlawful entry/search	Commonwealth: search was incident to in-home arrest under Payton and/or a Buie protective sweep; paraphernalia was in plain view	Court: search stayed within Payton limits and fit Buie protective-sweep exception; plain-view seizure lawful; evidence admissible

Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (arrest warrant permits warrantless entry into suspect's home when there is reason to believe suspect is inside)
Maryland v. Buie, 494 U.S. 325 (permissible protective sweeps incident to in-home arrest; two categories of sweep)
United States v. Pruitt, 458 F.3d 477 (6th Cir.) (reason to believe is a lesser standard than probable cause for entry to execute arrest warrant)
Kerr v. Commonwealth, 400 S.W.3d 250 (Ky. 2013) (permitting nearby-room sweep incident to in-home arrest)
Brumley v. Commonwealth, 413 S.W.3d 280 (Ky. 2013) (discussing presumption against warrantless home searches)
Hazel v. Commonwealth, 833 S.W.2d 831 (Ky. 1992) (plain-view doctrine)
Steagald v. United States, 451 U.S. 204 (third-party residence requires search warrant to arrest nonresident suspect)