STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. RASHAWN M. ALEXANDER(15-06-0840, BURLINGTON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-4242-15T2

Police responded to a November 16, 2014 report that a man (homeowner) had been dragged from his house and identified RasHawn Alexander as the assailant and warned he was armed.
Sergeant Greenberg observed defendant running, saw him holding a gun, ordered him to stop, and pursued when defendant fled into a house.
Officers arrested defendant inside the house after family members identified his location; an initial search of his person turned up nothing.
Greenberg made a cursory entry into the basement where he saw a round of ammunition but left when the arrest created a disturbance; defendant loudly objected to searches.
After removing and securing defendant, Greenberg obtained written consent from the homeowner (defendant’s father) and then re-entered the basement, recovering firearms, ammunition, and PCP.
Defendant moved to suppress the evidence; the trial court denied the motion (relying on exigent circumstances and subsequent homeowner consent); defendant pled guilty to N.J.S.A. 2C:39-7(b) and appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the warrantless initial entry/search of the basement was lawful	Entry/search was justified by exigent circumstances (armed suspect, weapon likely in home, presence of child/family)	Initial entry was unsupported by consent and not justified by exigency; suppression required	Court held exigent circumstances justified the initial intrusion; firearm risk supported prompt entry
Whether evidence seized after homeowner’s written consent is admissible	Even if initial entry was questionable, valid written consent from homeowner after defendant’s removal authorized the second search	Subsequent consent cannot cure prior unlawful intrusion or overcome defendant’s objection	Court held valid consent from homeowner after defendant’s lawful removal authorized the second search; suppression denied

Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (consent exception to warrant requirement)
State v. Walker, 213 N.J. 281 (factors for exigent-circumstances analysis)
State v. Wilson, 362 N.J. Super. 319 (firearms create special exigency)
State v. Lamb, 218 N.J. 300 (consent to search after objector removed can be valid)
State v. Cope, 224 N.J. 530 (defining protective sweep limits)
State v. Johnson, 193 N.J. 528 (warrantless-search exceptions)