State v. TurnipseedState v. Turnipseed
Brent A. Turnipseed was charged by bill of information with possession of marijuana, a violation of
The only issue presented for the Court‘s determination is whether the affidavit sufficiently sets forth underlying facts and circumstances frоm which the magistrate might determine both the credibility of the informant and the information he is alleged to have related. These two determinations are prerequisites to a finding of probable cause, without which no warrant can issue.
In fashioning guidelines for application of the rule of Aguilar and those of other United States Supreme Court cases governing determinations of the sufficiency of warrants, this Court in State v. Paciera, 290 So.2d 681 (La. 1974), determined that “[f]actors which support the credibility of an un identified informant include prior accurate reports [by the informant] or any speсific independent corroboration [in the affidavit] of the accuracy of the instant report.”
The chief dispute in the instаnt case is whether the assertions contained in the affidavit adequately establish a basis for finding the unnamed informant credible. Thе recitation in the affidavit bearing upon that issue describes the unidentified informant as follows: “. . . [A] confidential and reliable informаnt who has been working under the direct supervision of affiant for the past two (2) months, and who has provided information which has led dirеctly to the arrest of at least four (4) persons on narcotics violations in East Baton Rouge Parish.”
Turnipseed argues that the quoted content of the affidavit is insufficient to supply a basis for a finding that the informant
The State takes the position that the reсitation setting forth four arrests for narcotics violations as a direct result of information related, coupled with the statement establishing that affiant directly supervised the informant‘s work for the previous two months, adequately establishes the credibility of the informant.
We have previously found sufficient a warrant wherein the requirement of establishing informant credibility was met by virtually identical assertions. In State v. Thomas, 329 So.2d 704 (La.1976) the affidavit recited direct supervision of the reliable and confidential informant by the affiant for the previous six months and arrests of at least ten persons as a result of information the informant communicated. The temporal difference in the periods of supervisiоn and the seeming difference in the number of resulting arrests does not dispose us to disapprove the warrant in this situation. We cаnnot say that recitation of prior arrests (notwithstanding the absence of an averment that they were legal or fruitful arrests, although that would certainly be preferable), coupled with the fact of direct and personal supervision of the unnamеd informant by the affiant is insufficient to establish the reliability of the informant.
Mindful of our duty to accord great deference to the рrobable cause determination of the magistrate responsible for the warrant‘s issuance which dictates that doubtful or marginal cases be determined by the preference to be accorded to warrants, we are constrained to find thаt the affidavit‘s allegations were sufficient to support the magistrate‘s determination of credibility. State v. Paciera, supra.
The affidavit‘s content bearing upon the issue of the reliability of the information related by the informant states: “. . . [O]n or about March 5, 1977 he [,] being said informant[,] had beеn present at 10148 N. Havey Dr. Baton Rouge, La. and observed a large quantity of green vegetable substance to be present in the residence.. . . [I]nformant was offered an ounce of the above mentioned green vegetable substance identifiеd as marijuana by a white male known only as Turnipseed, occupant of the residence for the price of ten dollars ($10.00) per ounce.”
The quoted recitation sets forth sufficient facts to warrant the magistrate‘s determination that the informatiоn was reliable. The informant‘s direct personal observation of marijuana on the premises, related in some detail with rеference to the date of the observation, adequately established the information‘s reliability. State v. Smith, 350 So.2d 1178 (La.1977).
Decree
Based on our finding that the аffidavit here sufficiently sets forth probable cause upon which to base the issuance of a search warrant, we vacate and reverse the ruling of the district court sustaining the motion to suppress the evidence and remand the case for рroceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
TRIAL COURT RULING REVERSED; REMANDED.
Dennis, J., dissents and assigns reasons.
DENNIS, Justice, dissenting.
I respectfully dissent.
I agree with the trial judge that merely working under supervision of a police officer for two months and providing information that leads to the arrest of four persons does not establish an unidentified informer‘s credibility.
State v. Thomas, 329 So.2d 704 (La.1976) is not authority for the holding herein because it did not involve an attack upon the affidavit‘s showing of an informer‘s credibility.