Warrantless Search – Suppression of Evidence

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Darell Roland

Case No.: 22-1799

Officials: Ripple, Scudder, and St. Eve, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Warrantless Search – Suppression of Evidence

Indianapolis police responded to St. Vincent Hospital around 2:15 a.m. on July 9, 2020, after Banks arrived there after being shot multiple times. Following conversations with Banks and his friend, Darell Roland, officers looked in Roland’s Buick and saw blood and two handguns inside. Sergeant Jordan Lewis then sought a warrant to search the Buick, and a Marion County judge quickly granted that permission.

The officers came to learn that the handguns belonged to Roland and that he had a prior conviction for robbery. A federal charge followed under the felon-in-possession statute, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Roland pleaded guilty but reserved the right to appeal his challenge to the state court’s issuance of the search warrant, which he says was based on incomplete information. There can be probable cause to search a space belonging to someone who is not—or at least not yet—suspected of committing a crime as long as the facts establish a fair probability that the search will uncover evidence that will aid the police in their investigation and thus, the district court appropriately rejected the challenge.

Affirmed.

Decided 03/01/23

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