Homer Clark Steele v. State, 355 S.W.3d 746

Appellant Homer Steele challenged judgments for indecency with a child and possession of child pornography after pleading guilty; the trial court denied his motion to suppress; he was sentenced to 20 years and 10 years respectively.
An January 27, 2009 search of Steele’s apartment was supported by a warrant based on an affidavit from Officer Brinson detailing statements from two informants about Steele’s past acts and possession of photographs.
The affidavit described Thumann’s report of Steele living with an 18-year-old, K.A., and C.S., who had lived with Steele since age 10, with prior nude images of C.S. when younger.
Broderick’s statements alleged ongoing sexual abuse of multiple boys and possession of nude photos; the affidavit asserted that Steele previously showed and possessed such photographs.
The motion to suppress argued the affidavit lacked probable cause and proper time framing; the trial court denied suppression; the appellate majority upheld the denial.
Dissent criticized the affidavit as based entirely on hearsay from informants of unknown credibility and timing, urging suppression/reversal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was there probable cause to issue the search warrant?	Steele contends the affidavit lacked probable cause.	Steele argues the affidavit is insufficient to establish probable cause.	Probable cause existed; magistrate could infer Steele continued to possess child pornography.
Was the time frame sufficient to prevent staleness of the information?	Steele argues missing precise dates renders the information stale.	Steele argues lack of frame of reference undermines credibility.	Time references were sufficiently tied to events and continuous activity supported by context.

Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. Supreme Court 1983) (probable cause requires a substantial basis in the totality of the circumstances)
Davis v. State, 202 S.W.3d 149 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (affidavit must set forth facts establishing probable cause within the four corners)
Flores v. State, 319 S.W.3d 697 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (probable cause under totality-of-circumstances standard)
McKissick v. State, 209 S.W.3d 205 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (affidavit credibility and knowledge of informants considered)
Jones v. State, 338 S.W.3d 725 (Tex. App.—Houston (1st Dist.) 2011) (time-frame sufficiency for probable-cause in affidavits)
Sgro v. United States, 287 U.S. 206 (U.S. Supreme Court 1932) (necessity of timely facts for probable cause)