P. v. Hamilton CA3
Officers detained defendant Lynn Arlen Hamilton while they executed a valid search warrant on his brother’s truck, looking for firearms and ammunition which his brother was statutorily prohibited from possessing. Although defendant was not the subject of the search warrant, officers knew at that time that he too had a prior conviction that prevented him from possessing firearms and ammunition. While detained, defendant made several incriminating statements about ammunition found in the truck and firearms and ammunition found at a residential property that was also subject to the warrant. He moved to suppress his inculpatory statements prior to trial. The trial court found defendant had been unlawfully arrested when seized, but denied the motion to suppress after concluding he would have inevitably made the statements notwithstanding the purported Fourth Amendment violation.
Comments on P. v. Hamilton CA3