United States v. Kevin Pettis, 16-3919

Early morning, July 7, 2013: Shaleke Russell reported Kevin Pettis fired a gun from a tan Chevy Tahoe while leaving Oakwood Trace apartments; police recovered a shell casing near the reported location.
Russell gave a license plate number matching all but the last two digits of the Tahoe later observed at another apartment complex (South State).
Officers found Pettis minutes later near the South State apartments, arrested him without a gun, and saw a warm Tahoe with keys in Pettis’s possession; landlord identified Pettis as leasing apartment #5.
Police obtained warrants to search the Tahoe and apartment #5 based on affidavits recounting the shooting, casing recovery, vehicle location, Pettis’s presence near the apartment complex, and landlord confirmation; the gun was found in apartment #5.
Pettis moved to suppress the gun, arguing lack of probable cause; district court denied the motion (also found Pettis lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy based on conflicting affidavits) and a jury convicted him of felon-in-possession.
On appeal, the Seventh Circuit assumed (without deciding) Pettis had standing, held the warrant was supported by probable cause, and alternatively found the Leon good-faith exception applied.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the warrant to search apartment #5 was supported by probable cause	Warrant affidavits established a fair probability the gun would be in the apartment or Tahoe	Affidavits contained inaccuracies (license plate digits, timing) and thus lacked probable cause	Probable cause existed; state judge’s issuance entitled to deference and supported by substantial evidence
Whether errors in the affidavit (wrong plate digits; travel time) misled the issuing judge	Errors were minor and did not negate probable cause	Errors rendered affidavit misleading and unreliable	Errors were trivial/plausible and did not mislead; did not defeat probable cause
Whether suppression is required under the exclusionary rule if probable cause were lacking	Not asserted (government argues warrant valid)	Even if probable cause slight, officers cannot reasonably rely on warrant issued by neutral judge	Good-faith exception applies; officers reasonably relied on the warrant
Whether the good‑faith exception is overcome (Leon factors)	Warrant was not misleading, judge remained neutral, warrant not facially deficient	Affidavit defects show reckless falsity or warrant facially deficient	Leon presumption not overcome; no evidence of reckless falsehood, judge abandonment, or facial invalidity

United States v. Garcia, 528 F.3d 481 (7th Cir.) (deference to issuing judge on warrant probable-cause determination)
United States v. McIntire, 516 F.3d 576 (7th Cir.) (standard for reviewing magistrate’s probable-cause determination)
United States v. Curry, 538 F.3d 718 (7th Cir.) (magistrate entitled to draw reasonable inferences about where evidence will be kept)
United States v. Koerth, 312 F.3d 862 (7th Cir.) (substantial evidence test for upholding a warrant)
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (Sup. Ct.) (probable cause = fair probability that evidence will be found in the place searched)
United States v. Sleet, 54 F.3d 303 (7th Cir.) (magistrate may infer where evidence likely kept)
United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (Sup. Ct.) (good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule)