Commonwealth v. Alexis
Commonwealth v. Alexis
Opinion
**91 The defendant, Jean Alexis, was charged with numerous crimes stemming from an armed home invasion in Lynn. 1 The day after the home invasion, and following an investigation, **92 the police arrested the defendant inside his dwelling without an arrest warrant. The defendant moved to suppress evidence that (1) the police observed during a protective sweep of his dwelling after he was arrested and (2) the police gathered after they obtained a warrant to search his dwelling. 2 A judge in the Superior Court allowed the defendant's motion to suppress because the police created the exigency that prompted their warrantless entry into the defendant's dwelling. A single justice of this court allowed the Commonwealth's application for leave to pursue an interlocutory appeal and reported the case to the full court.
We have held that "where the exigency is reasonably foreseeable and the police offer no justifiable excuse for their prior delay in obtaining a warrant, the exigency exception to the warrant requirement is not open to them."
Commonwealth
v.
Forde
,
Background
. We recite the motion judge's factual findings supplemented by the uncontroverted evidence at the motion hearing that is consistent with the judge's findings.
Commonwealth
v.
Jones-Pannell
,
Garcia recognized the man with the silver handgun as someone with whom he had attended high school. Later that afternoon, Garcia went to the police station in an attempt to identify the perpetrator. After looking through a "few hundred photos," Garcia saw a photograph of the defendant and stated with "[one hundred] percent" certainty that the photograph was of one of the men who had broken into his home and was the one who had hit him and his baby.
Pohle wrote an incident report and filled out an arrest warrant application. Because it was late in the afternoon and his shift had ended, Pohle placed the warrant in the "court box" for the next **94 day. 3 Pohle testified that although the nature of the investigation -- an armed home invasion -- justified an after-hours warrant, the decision not to seek one was within his discretion. 4 *800 Early the next morning, before he began his shift, Pohle telephoned the supervisor of the Lynn police department's warrant task force, Sergeant Michael Kenny. Pohle informed Kenny, who was on his way to the police station, that the defendant had been identified as the perpetrator of the home invasion who brandished a handgun and struck the baby with the gun. Pohle also informed Kenny that he was in the process of getting an arrest warrant.
At approximately 7 A.M. , Kenny arrived at the police station and reviewed the department's "hot sheet." 5 Kenny recognized the defendant's name on the "hot sheet" as a person with whom he had recently spoken while investigating another matter. Kenny also knew where the defendant lived.
Without an arrest warrant, but believing that there was probable cause to arrest the defendant and that exigent circumstances existed, Kenny and four other members of the warrant task force proceeded to the defendant's address. The officers were dressed in plainclothes and had their badges displayed. 6 Because of the information available to Kenny at the time -- the defendant's identification being fresh, the violent nature of the home invasion, the defendant's role in it, his possession of a firearm, the involvement of two accomplices, and the possibility that they might flee -- he believed that immediate action was required. 7
Upon arriving at the defendant's address, Kenny and two officers approached the front door, while two other officers went **95 to the side of the house to secure a perimeter. 8 Kenny understood that the officers' presence might prompt the defendant to flee or destroy evidence. Kenny's plan was to knock on the door to determine if the defendant was home, question him, and, if the opportunity arose, arrest him. As Kenny ascended the front porch steps, the defendant saw the officers through the glass front door. The defendant turned around and ran toward the back of the house. One of the officers who was setting up a perimeter observed the defendant climbing through a window in the back of the house. The officer shouted at the defendant to show his hands. Instead, the defendant retreated into the house, out of the officer's view. Because of the volatile situation and the nature of the crimes involved, the officers forced their way through the front door. As they entered, they noticed the defendant coming toward them from the back of the home. *801 The officers ordered the defendant to the ground and handcuffed him in the hallway.
After the defendant had been restrained, the officers conducted a protective sweep of the house and secured the premises. During the protective sweep, Kenny made a plain view observation of some jewelry on top of a refrigerator in the defendant's room that matched the description of the jewelry taken during the home invasion. 9
After the dwelling had been secured, Kenny prepared an application for a search warrant. In his affidavit, Kenny relayed Garcia's account of the violent home invasion, Garcia's identification of the defendant, and that the defendant was brandishing a silver handgun. He also included the plain view observations of the suspected stolen property he had seen during the protective sweep. A clerk-magistrate of the Lynn Division of the District Court Department approved the search warrant.
During the execution of the search warrant, the officers seized items of evidentiary significance, including jewelry, a wallet, an electrical stun gun, and various identification cards bearing the **96 defendant's name. Also discovered were articles of clothing that matched the description given by Garcia of the clothes worn by the home invaders. Following the search warrant execution, Garcia confirmed that the sweatshirt and the pants were consistent with the clothing worn by the defendant during the home invasion.
Discussion
. 1.
Warrantless arrest
. Historically, the Massachusetts Constitution has carefully protected the home from the intrusion by the government without a warrant, with certain delineated exceptions. See
Commonwealth
v.
Tyree
,
The Commonwealth argues that the warrantless arrest of the defendant in his home was justified because the defendant's reaction to the lawful police presence outside his home created exigent circumstances. In making this argument, it maintains that the United States Supreme Court, in
King
,
The defendant contends that the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement is inapplicable because the police *802 created the exigency themselves by not procuring a warrant before going to the defendant's residence. He claims that the warrantless entry into his home violates his rights under art. 14, notwithstanding the fact that police officers may lawfully knock **97 on a door and make inquiries. 11
The Fourth Amendment and art. 14 require that all searches and seizures be reasonable, and case law has held that all warrantless entries into a home are presumptively unreasonable. See, e.g.,
Commonwealth
v.
Ramos
,
In
Forde
, we held that "a warrantless entry into a dwelling to arrest in the absence of sufficient justification for the failure to obtain a warrant" is impermissible.
Later, in
Molina
, a case decided eight years before the Supreme Court's decision in
King
, we held: "The Fourth Amendment ... and art. 14 ... scrupulously guard against the intrusion of the government into a citizen's home without a warrant."
Molina
,
**98
In
King
,
In Molina , we did not address whether art. 14 offers more protection than the Fourth Amendment in situations where, as here, law enforcement's lawful conduct created the exigent circumstances that are in turn used to justify a warrantless search. We take the opportunity to address this issue now.
Our interpretation of art. 14 frequently aligns with the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fourth Amendment. However, we have sometimes held that art. 14 may provide more substantive protection to individuals than that provided by the Fourth Amendment.
12
See, e.g.,
Commonwealth
v.
Amado
,
**99
] is the appropriate standard that must be met for a strip or visual body cavity search to be constitutionally permissible' under art. 14" [citation omitted] );
Commonwealth
v.
Balicki
,
*804
Although we have not specifically answered the question whether art. 14 provides greater protection than the Fourth Amendment in these circumstances, we have repeatedly emphasized the importance of a person's right to privacy in the home. See, e.g.,
Commonwealth
v.
Porter P
.,
In the present case, balancing the interests of law enforcement with the rights of people to be protected from warrantless searches in the home, we conclude that art. 14 provides greater
**100
protection than the Fourth Amendment in these circumstances and that under art. 14 the police cannot avail themselves of the exigency exception to the warrant requirement when it was foreseeable that their actions would create the exigency, even if their conduct was lawful. See
Molina
,
Here, before arriving at the defendant's home, Kenny knew that Pohle was in the process of getting an arrest warrant but had not secured one. Moreover, Kenny testified that his plan was to knock on the door to see if the defendant was home, question him, and if the opportunity arose, arrest him. Based on his testimony, it was evident that Kenny went to the defendant's home with the purpose of making an arrest without a warrant. There is nothing in the record indicating that it was impracticable to get a warrant.
Likewise, it was reasonably foreseeable that the five police officers approaching the defendant's home could cause the defendant to attempt to flee.
13
In fact, Kenny testified that he understood that the officers' presence might prompt the defendant to flee or destroy evidence. See
Forde
,
There is no question that the police had developed probable cause to arrest the defendant prior to arriving at his home. Pohle decided not to pursue an after-hours arrest warrant, even though he testified that there was a procedure in place to get one. There is also no question that it is generally permissible for police to approach a person's home and knock on the door.
Commonwealth
v.
Leslie
,
Furthermore, the Commonwealth made no showing that it was impracticable to obtain an arrest warrant. There was no evidence that there was a risk that the defendant would flee, destroy evidence, or be a risk to the officers' safety if the police followed the normal course and secured a warrant. See
Tyree
,
The Commonwealth argues that because of the nature of the crime, the defendant's role in it, his possession of a firearm, the involvement of two accomplices, and the possibility that they might try to flee, the situation called for immediate action. However, the police could have set up surveillance while they waited for the warrant and arrested the defendant if he left his house. To this point, even though the Commonwealth argued that the defendant might have fled, it did not articulate any basis to conclude that there was a risk of flight. See
Tyree
,
2.
Waiver
. In a postargument letter invited by the court, the defendant contends that the Commonwealth waived any argument regarding the validity of the search warrant that was sought and executed after the defendant was arrested because the argument was raised neither below nor on appeal. We agree. See
Commonwealth
v.
Bettencourt
,
Under both the Fourth Amendment and art. 14, a search warrant may issue only on a showing of probable cause.
**102
Commonwealth
v.
Keown
,
Some cases involving the search of a dwelling have used an articulation of the nexus standard that has sometimes been interpreted as being more stringent, particularly in cases involving searches of residences for drugs. See, e.g.,
Perkins
,
**103 The affidavit in support of the search warrant stated that the defendant was identified by the victim, was seen brandishing a silver handgun, and struck Garcia and his baby during the home invasion with the gun. The affidavit also stated that Kenny observed jewelry fitting the description of stolen jewelry during the protective sweep. The search warrant was approved by a clerk-magistrate, and the police seized significant evidence, including articles of clothing that matched Garcia's description of the clothes worn by the home invaders.
Here, probable cause to issue the search warrant remained even without considering Kenny's plain view observation of jewelry matching the description of the stolen jewelry. The defendant used a handgun to strike Garcia and his child during the commission of the home invasion.
14
It is reasonable to expect that the handgun specified in the warrant was an item that could reasonably be located in the home of a person who had participated in an armed home invasion the previous day.
Cinelli
,
Conclusion . The order of the Superior Court judge allowing the defendant's pretrial motion to suppress evidence is affirmed.
So ordered .
The charges are as follows: home invasion (G. L. c. 265, § 18C ), armed robbery (G. L. c. 265, § 17 ), armed assault in a dwelling (G. L. c. 265, § 18A ), assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon (G. L. c. 265, § 15A [ b ] ), assault and battery (G. L. c. 265, § 13A [ a ] ), and possession of an electrical stun gun (G. L. c. 140, § 131J ).
"An arrest warrant 'encompasses the power to enter a [suspect's] residence for the purpose of executing the warrant' " (citation omitted).
Commonwealth
v.
Silva
,
The "court box" has a mail slot for "paperwork that needs to go over to court." Each morning, a "police prosecutor" brings applications for warrants and complaints from the police station to the Lynn Division of the District Court Department, where a clerk reviews and signs the applications.
Detective Stephen Pohle did not recall his rationale for not seeking an after-hours arrest warrant.
A "hot sheet" has "information that's put out to police officers within the department that explains incidents, what happened, the facts of incidents, [and] suspect information." The "hot sheet" "pass[es] on information" to "officers who may have not worked [the previous] shift."
The officers arrived at the defendant's residence in unmarked police vehicles.
The motion judge found that Sergeant Michael Kenny mistakenly believed that the defendant's identification had occurred that morning, immediately prior to Pohle's telephone call. Testimony in the record indicates that Garcia had identified the defendant the previous day.
Kenny described the dwelling as a "four-room rooming house" that "looks like a single-family house from the front." "There's a porch that goes up to the front door," and the front door is "clear glass." "To the left and right of [the] door are windows, and the windows are to each separate room in the rooming house." "When you walk in the front door, to the right is a door that goes to a bedroom," and "[o]n the left, is another door that goes to a bedroom." "There is an open living room area, and ... behind that is a kitchen area [with] stairs on the right ... going to the second level."
A description of the jewelry that had been taken from Garcia was in Pohle's incident report.
Police may have reasonable grounds to believe that obtaining a warrant would be impracticable when the delay in doing so would pose a significant risk that the suspect may flee, evidence may be destroyed, or the safety of the police or others may be endangered.
Commonwealth
v.
Figueroa
,
For the first time on appeal, the defendant contends that the officers' presence on his porch violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and art. 14 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. This argument is misplaced. Neither the Federal nor the Massachusetts Constitution prohibits police from knocking on a citizen's door and making an initial inquiry. See
Commonwealth
v.
Leslie
,
See
Commonwealth
v.
Gentle
,
Although the officers were in plain clothes, Kenny testified that their badges were displayed.
The defendant did not fire the handgun during the home invasion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- COMMONWEALTH v. Jean ALEXIS.
- Cited By
- 28 cases
- Status
- Published