State v. Gleason, 2022 Ohio 3893

Law enforcement (CODE) investigated Marilyn Gleason and her brothers as long-term methamphetamine traffickers operating from adjacent homes on State Route 669; prior incidents dating to 2014 were included in the investigation.
The warrant affidavit (presented Oct. 2, 2020) aggregated multiple sources: a 2014 buy and a 2014 meth lab at a brother's address, a 2017 search of a brother's home with meth recovered, 2019 phone-message evidence from Tracy Love linking Gleason to trafficking, a July 29, 2020 proffer by Michael Siegenthal stating he purchased meth from Gleason and that the family kept large quantities, and Sept. 30, 2020 corroboration by Russell Knight who admitted buying meth on the property.
A magistrate signed the search warrant Oct. 2, 2020; it was executed Oct. 6, 2020 at Gleason's home. Officers seized meth, cocaine, oxycodone, scales, baggies, weapons, and pay/owe records; Gleason later admitted selling with her brother.
A Perry County grand jury indicted Gleason on multiple drug charges (May 26, 2021). Gleason moved to suppress (Feb. 17, 2022), arguing the affidavit was stale and relied on unreliable informants; the court held a hearing by stipulation and denied suppression (Mar. 11, 2022).
Gleason pled no contest to several counts, was sentenced to 42 months, and appealed, raising three errors: staleness/probable cause, informant reliability, and the trial court's reliance on the good-faith exception.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether affidavit was stale / failed to show probable cause that evidence would be at Gleason's home	Affidavit described multi-year, ongoing trafficking by the family with recent corroboration; supports probable cause	Affidavit relied on much older events and thus was stale and insufficient to show contemporaneous probable cause	Court held affidavit showed ongoing activity with recent corroboration (Siegenthal July 2020; Knight Sept. 30, 2020); not stale — probable cause supported the warrant
Whether informants lacked indicia of reliability (criminal-milieu informants)	State: affiant independently corroborated informant reports via phone records, interviews, surveillance, and arrests	Gleason: named informants were part of the criminal milieu and affidavit failed to show their veracity/reliability/basis of knowledge	Court held independent corroboration (phone search, interviews, surveillance) supported the informants’ information; indicia satisfied
Whether suppression should nonetheless be upheld because magistrate lacked substantial basis (and whether good-faith exception applies)	State: suppression not warranted; magistrate had probable cause (or, alternatively, evidence admitted under good-faith exception)	Gleason: even if affidavit deficient, exclusion should apply	Court found probable cause and declined to reach good-faith exception as moot; final judgment affirmed

Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690 (U.S. 1996) (probable cause and reasonable suspicion determinations reviewed de novo on appeal)
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. 1983) (use totality-of-the-circumstances test to evaluate probable cause from affidavits)
State v. George, 544 N.E.2d 640 (Ohio 1989) (practical, common-sense probable-cause standard for search-warrant affidavits)
State v. Leak, 47 N.E.3d 821 (Ohio 2016) (appellate standard for mixed questions of law and fact in suppression rulings)
State v. Burnside, 797 N.E.2d 71 (Ohio 2003) (trial court as factfinder on suppression; appellate courts accept factual findings supported by competent, credible evidence)
United States v. Ortiz, 143 F.3d 728 (2d Cir. 1998) (when affidavit shows ongoing criminal activity, older information is less likely to be stale)
United States v. Martino, 664 F.2d 860 (2d Cir. 1981) (similar principle regarding continuity of conduct and staleness)
State v. Siegel, 180 N.E.3d 574 (Ohio App. 2021) (discusses requirements for indicia of reliability when informant is part of the criminal milieu)