Search Warrant and Field Property Inventory

[Udirrtyraatt10-4]

Texas
Ok, so a little back story, we have a new chief of police looking to make a name for himself by harassing every former and current drug user and seller. I am totally for cleaning up the area but not through harassment and slipping some green to the right people to get info. Yes, that's right, using bribery. Sad part is that he is a former methamphetamine dealer. Right?!??! Ok, so now the question, my friend was ran in on, and even tho he claims he asked, he was not given a search warrant until he was being released on bail the next day. I have a little background in the field so he showed me his paper work. On the Field Property Inventory the date the search warrant was issued was for the 17th (that's in the box at the top of the paper), now the date that the officer wrote down for when he listed this inventory was for the 19th of the same month, NOW as for the actual search warrant he was give the following day is dated the 18th of the same month. He was ran in on the night of the 19th. Also, in his run down papers they have listed items by number, his goes #1, 2, 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 and later says that items 2 and 7 will be sent out for testing. Turns out item #7 is being put on someone else, so would it still need to be listed on his papers? It's on the field property inventory, but not his run down of charges? As for the dates, wouldn't 3 different dates be a red flag?

 

[Zigner]

Your friend should speak to his attorney.

 

[quincy]

The new chief of police is a former meth dealer?

 

[Just Blue]

The new chief of police is a former meth dealer?

Wonder if the Fire Chief was an arsonist...

 

[CdwJava]

Texas
Ok, so a little back story, we have a new chief of police looking to make a name for himself by harassing every former and current drug user and seller. I am totally for cleaning up the area but not through harassment and slipping some green to the right people to get info. Yes, that's right, using bribery.

There is a difference between "harassment" and focusing on local dealers, users, and probationers and parolees. Not all "harassment" is unlawful or even improper. Law enforcement has been targeting criminal actors for ... well, forever? And paying close attention to "former and current drug users" is far more effective than focusing efforts on NON drug users.

And paying for info is hardly "bribery," it's more often paying an informant for intel. Paying them to make something up or frame someone, THAT would be unlawfuly. Paying them for info can be good police work.

Sad part is that he is a former methamphetamine dealer. Right?!??!

And you know the Chief of Police is a "former methamphetamine dealer" ... how? And, you are sure he was not acting in an undercover capacity?

If he had ever been convicted of selling meth., chances are he would have been disqualified for a job in law enforcement. And, even if only arrested, it's unlikely anyone would pick him up, either. MAYBE if he had been a little kid when it happened and he did wonderful things in the intervening 10 years or so. Maybe.

Ok, so now the question, my friend was ran in on, and even tho he claims he asked, he was not given a search warrant until he was being released on bail the next day. I have a little background in the field so he showed me his paper work. On the Field Property Inventory the date the search warrant was issued was for the 17th (that's in the box at the top of the paper), now the date that the officer wrote down for when he listed this inventory was for the 19th of the same month, NOW as for the actual search warrant he was give the following day is dated the 18th of the same month. He was ran in on the night of the 19th. Also, in his run down papers they have listed items by number, his goes #1, 2, 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 and later says that items 2 and 7 will be sent out for testing. Turns out item #7 is being put on someone else, so would it still need to be listed on his papers? It's on the field property inventory, but not his run down of charges? As for the dates, wouldn't 3 different dates be a red flag?

The dates could be clerical problems (i.e. errors), they could be days when the paperwork was filed or returned to the court, or anything else. It could be nefarious, or completely innocent. His attorney can look at the reports and the paperwork and make a much better call as to how to respond to the paperwork than we can.

Are you implying that the police bluffed and bullied their way inside without a warrant and then made it all up later? There may be some sloppy record keeping when it comes to the inventory, and that may be worth visiting by the defense. But, unless it's sufficient to cause the evidence to be suppressed somehow, the key will be when the warrant was signed by the judge and when the warrant was served.

 

[Udirrtyraatt10-4]

The new chief of police is a former meth dealer?

Yeah. It's a small community. Of course he wasn't ever caught but I have a past and he was part of it.

 

[quincy]

Yeah. It's a small community. Of course he wasn't ever caught but I have a past and he was part of it.

Interesting. I guess there can be some advantages to having a police chief who knows the drug community well.

I know of a few in the legal field who came to their careers largely because of (and despite of) their own criminal experiences. They were lucky enough to find mentors at a time when their lives could have gone either way.

At any rate, your friend should find a lawyer to help with his defense. The attorney will investigate the facts of the arrest and will review the field inventory,

 

[CavemanLawyer]

Your post is a little confusing to me but a typical search warrant/affidavit/return will often have three different dates on it. You have three days to execute and return a search warrant but that is not including the day the warrant was signed or the day the warrant was returned, so that actually means they have a full five days. So it is not at all uncommon for the warrant to be signed on one day, the warrant run within the next couple days, and then the warrant returned to the Court on a subsequent day. This will result in three different dates on all the paperwork.

The "return" just means that the officer brings a copy of the inventory to the Court to let it know that the warrant was run and what was recovered. The inventory is supposed to list every item taken from the property searched. Sometimes the inventory will reference another document so that could explain the lack of number 7. Also the way items are numbered on the inventory is not going to always correspond to the way items are numbered on the submission to the laboratory for testing. For example, item number one on a search warrant inventory might be listed as freezer bag containing suspected controlled substance and syringe. Its somewhat rare to test a syringe and DPS typically will not even accept it, so the police agency may open the freezer bag and submit just the drugs under a completely different item number. What I am getting at is that someone would really need to read through all documentation on the case to see if there are any actual discrepancies.