J-S21003-24
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : ISIAH WYATTE : : Appellant : No. 1599 EDA 2023
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered June 7, 2023 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0000818-2021
BEFORE: LAZARUS, P.J., NICHOLS, J., and MURRAY, J.
MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, P.J.: FILED SEPTEMBER 27, 2024
Isiah Wyatte appeals from the judgment of sentence, entered in the
Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, following his convictions, after
a non-jury trial, of possession with intent to deliver, 1 intentional possession of
a controlled substance by a person not registered,2 possession of a firearm
prohibited,3 and possessing an instrument of crime with intent to employ it
criminally.4 After careful review, we reverse the denial of suppression, vacate
____________________________________________
1 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30).
2 Id. at § 780-113(a)(16).
3 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6105(a)(1).
4 Id. at § 907(a). J-S21003-24
Wyatte’s convictions, and remand for proceedings consistent with this
decision.
On August 18, 2020, members of the United States Marshals’ Violent
Fugitive Task Force arrived at 5604 Catharine Street, in Philadelphia, a
basement apartment, based upon information that Wyatte was residing
there.5 Wyatte was the subject of an active arrest warrant stemming from a
shooting at 1631 S. 18th Street in Philadelphia on May 14, 2020.6 See
Affidavit of Probable Cause, 8/18/20. After setting up surveillance at 5604
Catharine Street, Special Deputy David Stevenson of the U.S. Marshals
observed Wyatte exit the apartment, smoke a cigarette, and re-enter the
apartment. See N.T. Motion Volume 1, 3/15/22, at 11-12. Pursuant to U.S.
Marshal policy, the Violent Fugitive Task Force deliberately waited until Wyatte
re-entered 5604 Catharine Street to set up a secure perimeter of the property.
Id. at 13.
After knocking on the door and receiving no response, U.S. Marshals
breached the residence without a search warrant. Shortly thereafter, Wyatte
was arrested in the house and brought outside. See Trial Court Opinion,
5 It is unclear, from the record before us, what information law enforcement
relied upon in concluding that Wyatte could be found at the Catharine Street address.
6 This shooting was captured on surveillance video and, as relevant to the facts of this case, depicted a white sedan pull up next to another, unidentified vehicle. Gunshots were fired from inside of the white sedan at the other vehicle. Additionally, law enforcement observed a “carabine[]r with keys [] in the shooting incident video.” Affidavit of Probable Cause, 8/18/20.
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9/21/23, at 4. During the arrest, law enforcement conducted a protective
sweep, but did not locate any other people with guns, or see any firearms,
drugs, or other evidence in plain view. See id.7
Detective Charles Courtney of the South Detective Division of the
Philadelphia Police Department was the assigned detective for the shooting on
May 14, 2020. After learning that Wyatte was arrested at 5604 Catharine
Street, detectives prepared a search warrant for the address in their search
for the firearm and other physical evidence connected to the 1631 S. 18th
Street shooting. See N.T. Suppression Hearing, 3/15/22, at 34-35; see also
Affidavit of Probable Cause for Search and Seizure Warrant, 8/18/20. On
August 18, 2020, detectives obtained the search warrant, which contained the
following information:
On 5/14/2020 at approximately 2:44 [P.M.], police responded to a report of a shooting [at] 1631 S[outh] 18[th] Street[, in] Philadelphia[]. Police located [C]omplainant #1 on the highway suffering from gunshot wounds to the buttocks. Complainant #1 was transported to [Penn] Presbyterian [Medical Center] and listed in stable condition. Complainant [#1] was unable to be interviewed at this time due to the fact he was in surgery. Complainant #2 was not injured and [was] transported to [South Detectives Division] to be interviewed. Complainant #2 stated she was sitting in [C]omplainant #1’s parked vehicle in the passenger seat talking to [C]omplainant #1. A white sedan then pulled up beside the vehicle they were sitting in, the male in the
7 See N.T. Motion Volume 1, 3/15/2022, at 18-19. See also Commonwealth
v. Taylor, 771 A.2d 1261, 1267 (Pa. 2001) (“[a] protective sweep is ‘a quick and limited search of premises, incident to an arrest and conducted to protect the safety of police officers or others.’”) (quoting Maryland v. Buie, 494 U.S. 325, 327 (1990)).
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passenger seat stated “what’s up fam” and then began shooting at them and sped off.
Witness #1 stated while she was walking her dog, she heard approximately 5 gunshots and then observed a 4[-]door white sedan with tinted windows speed past her at a high rate of speed. Video depicts a white four-door sedan with dark tinted windows pulling up next to [] [C]omplainant[] [#1’s] vehicle. Complainant[] [#1’s] vehicle [was] transported to police garage pending a search warrant.
[] Wyatte [] was developed and identified [as a suspect]. Arrest [w]arrant [#]00004552-2020 was obtained for Wyatte’s arrest.
On 8[/]8[/][]20 at 9:28 [A.M.,] members of the United States Marshals[’] Gun taskforce[,] along with [members of the] South Detectives Division warrant unit[,] observed [Wyatte] exit [the] basement apartment of 5604 Catharine Street[,] Philadelphia[]. The officers took the door and arrested Wyatte for [an] active [a]ggravated [s]hooting warrant #00004552-2020.
Based upon the above listed facts and circumstances, the [a]ffiant requests that a [s]earch and [s]eizure warrant be issued for 5604 Catharine Street[,] [] to recover firearms, firearm accessories, ammunition and a carabine[]r with keys seen in the shooting video[,] [p]roof of residence, and any other items of evidentiary value.
Affidavit of Probable Cause, 8/18/20.
Upon executing the search warrant, law enforcement found a loaded
firearm underneath the bedroom mattress, a carabiner with three keys—
similar to the one seen in the video of the shooting—on a bureau, a yellow
bag containing 843 packets of fentanyl sticking out from a hole in the bedroom
wall, and a veterinary bill addressed to Wyatte on a kitchen table. See N.T.
Suppression Hearing, 3/15/2020, 35-36.
Following his arrest on August 18, 2020, the Commonwealth charged
Wyatte with the above-mentioned offenses. Additionally, the Commonwealth
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charged Wyatte with attempted murder at two separate dockets, CP-51-
0000814-2021 (Docket No. 814-2021) and CP-51-CR-0000816-2021 (Docket
No. 816-2021).8
On March 2, 2022, Wyatte filed a motion to suppress physical evidence, 9
challenging his arrest, the search of the Catharine Street apartment, and the
seizure of evidence therefrom. See Motion to Suppress, 3/2/22, at 1.
Specifically, Wyatte argued that law enforcement was required to obtain both
an arrest warrant and a search warrant before entering 5604 Catharine Street,
and that because the U.S. Marshals did not have a search warrant when they
entered the apartment to arrest Wyatte, any evidence obtained pursuant to
the search warrant should be suppressed. See id. at 2-4. Wyatte also argued
that the search warrant was invalid and stale because it did not establish
sufficient probable cause where there was no indication that any item of
evidentiary value would be discovered in the residence, especially because
more than three months had passed between the shooting and Wyatte’s
arrest. See id.
On March 15 and 16, 2022, the suppression court conducted a hearing,
after which the court denied Wyatte’s motion to suppress. Relevantly, the ____________________________________________
8 Docket Nos. 814-2021 and 816-2021 were consolidated for a jury trial and
Wyatte was tried separately on the instant docket.
9 The certified record reflects that Wyatte’s motion to suppress was time- stamped by the criminal motions court on March 2, 2022. However, our review of the record reveals that the motion was never docketed. The order denying the motion, nevertheless, was docketed on March 16, 2022.
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suppression court found that the U.S. Marshals’ initial entry into 5604
Catharine Street to arrest Wyatte was unlawful because law enforcement
entered without a search warrant. See N.T. Motion Volume 2, 3/16/22, at 4.
Nonetheless, the court denied Wyatte’s motion to suppress physical evidence,
finding that the search warrant was based on an independent source, and not
a product of the unlawful entry (the entry to arrest Wyatte), during which no
evidence was recovered.10 See id. The court also found that the search
warrant was not stale. Id. at 3.
On November 3, 2022, a jury acquitted Wyatte of both counts of
attempted murder at Docket Nos. 814-2021 and 816-2021. At the instant
docket, Wyatte proceeded to a bench trial on March 29, 2023, and the trial
court convicted Wyatte of the above-mentioned charges. The trial court
deferred sentencing and, on June 7, 2023, sentenced Wyatte to an aggregate
term of 7 to 14 years’ imprisonment.
Wyatte filed a timely notice of appeal, and both Wyatte and the trial
court have complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925. On appeal, Wyatte raises the
following issue for our review: “Did the [trial] court err when denying the
motion to suppress physical evidence?” Brief for Appellant, at 3. ____________________________________________
10 “The [p]robable [c]ause for the [s]earch [w]arrant indicates that Fugitive
Task Force officers saw [Wyatte] exit the location of 5604 Cath[a]rine Street and includes the probable cause related to the crimes giving rise to the [a]rrest [w]arrant. The [p]robable [c]ause also seeks to recover items related to that shooting. Law enforcement entered the property, arrested [Wyatte] and secured the premises for the execution of the search warrant. This [p]robable cause is independent of the initial conduct of the police in entering the property illegally.” Trial Court Opinion, 9/21/23, at 8.
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This Court’s standard of review of the denial of a suppression motion is
well-established. The appellate courts are “limited to determining whether
the suppression court’s factual findings are supported by the record and
whether the legal conclusions drawn from those facts are correct.”
Commonwealth v. Shaffer, 209 A.3d 957, 968-69 (Pa. 2019) (internal
citations omitted). Our scope of review is limited to “only the evidence of the
Commonwealth and so much of the evidence for the defense as remains
uncontradicted when read in the context of the suppression record as a
whole.” Id. at 969. It is also “within the suppression court’s sole province as
factfinder to pass on the credibility of witnesses and the weight to be given to
their testimony.” Commonwealth v. Gallagher, 896 A.2d 583, 585 (Pa.
Super. 2006) (citation omitted). We review questions of law de novo. See
Commonwealth v. Yandamuri, 159 A.3d 503, 516 (Pa. 2017).
On appeal, Wyatte raises two distinct sub-issues challenging the search
warrant, which we address separately. In his first sub-issue, Wyatte argues
that his motion to suppress should have been granted because law
enforcement failed to obtain a search warrant for 5604 Catharine Street before
arresting Wyatte within the residence. See Brief for Appellant, at 8. Wyatte
argues that our Supreme Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Romero,
183 A.3d 364 (Pa. 2018) (plurality), requires both an arrest warrant and a
search warrant to effectuate an arrest of someone in the home of a third-party
who is not named in the arrest warrant. Wyatte contends that law
enforcement arrested Wyatte in his girlfriend’s residence without first
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obtaining a search warrant for 5604 Catharine Street and there were no
exigent circumstances justifying warrantless entry into the Catharine Street
address. See Brief for Appellant, at 10. Consequently, Wyatte asserts the
subsequent search warrant and seized evidence were “fruit of the poisonous
tree” and should have been suppressed.11 Id.
In general, both the Fourth Amendment of the United States
Constitution, and Article 1, Section 8, of the Pennsylvania Constitution protect
individuals from unreasonable government searches and seizures. See
Commonwealth v. Duke, 208 A.3d 465, 470 (Pa. Super. 2019) (citations
and quotations omitted). These provisions accomplish “the safeguarding of
privacy and the fundamental requirement that warrants shall only be issued
upon probable cause.” Commonwealth v. Edmunds, 586 A.2d 887, 899
(Pa. 1991).
“It is well[-]settled that absent exigent circumstances, an arrest warrant
supported by probable cause is required to arrest an individual in [the
individual’s] home.” Commonwealth v. Carter, 643 A.2d 61, 68 (Pa. 1994)
(citing Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980)); see also Payton, 445
U.S. at 603 (“[A]n arrest warrant founded on probable cause implicitly carries
with it the limited authority to enter a dwelling in which the suspect lives
when there is reason to believe the suspect is within.”) (emphasis added). To ____________________________________________
11 “The ‘fruit of the poisonous tree’ doctrine prohibits the admission of evidence at trial that was tainted by unconstitutional actions by law enforcement officials.” Commonwealth v. Santiago, 209 A.3d 912, 914 (Pa. 2019).
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protect a third party’s privacy interests against unreasonable intrusions, law
enforcement must acquire a search warrant as well as an arrest warrant. See
Romero, supra (“[w]ith regard to any third party’s privacy interest in the
targeted space, the arrest warrant, standing alone, fails to satisfy the mandate
of the warrant requirement”).
However, a suspect arrested within a third-party residence has no
privacy interest in the third-party’s home; a suspect’s privacy interests are
not implicated if the suspect is arrested within a third-party residence
pursuant to an arrest warrant, and not also a search warrant. See
Commonwealth v. Stanley, 446 A.2d 583, 587 (Pa. 1982) (“If an arrest
warrant and ‘reason to believe’ that a suspect can be found on the
premises are sufficient for police to invade a suspect’s own home, then these
facts are sufficient to invade a third party’s premises, where a suspect’s
expectation of privacy is necessarily less.”) (emphasis added); see also
Commonwealth v. Mullen, 267 A.3d 507, 517 (Pa. Super. 2021) (“it would
be anomalous to provide [a]ppellant more rights in a third-party residence
than he would have in his own home”). 12 ____________________________________________
12 In Mullen, police had a valid arrest warrant for the defendant, a parolee.
Mullen, 267 A.3d at 516. Police received an anonymous tip that the defendant was at 408 Anthony Street in Williamsport. Id. Upon arrival at 408 Anthony Street, police observed the defendant through one of the windows. Id. The police also spoke with a resident at the front door of the home, who confirmed that the defendant was inside. Id. at 517. Based upon law enforcement’s observation and the conversation with the resident, this Court concluded that the police had reasonable belief that the defendant was (Footnote Continued Next Page)
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After reviewing the foregoing case law, we conclude that Wyatte was
the subject of a valid arrest warrant and that law enforcement did not require
a search warrant to enter the Catharine Street residence and execute that
arrest warrant.13 Importantly, law enforcement had information that Wyatte
was staying at the 5604 Catharine Street residence and began surveillance of
the address. After observing 5604 Catharine Street for some time, law
in the residence. See id. at 516-17. Thus, law enforcement’s arrest warrant and reason to believe the defendant could be found within the premises “were all that [law enforcement] needed to enter the third-party residence for purposes of protecting [the defendant’s] Fourth Amendment rights.” Id. at 516. 13 In the instant case, the suppression court found that law enforcement lacked authority to enter 5604 Catharine Street without a search warrant. See N.T. Motion Volume 2, 3/16/22, at 2-4. Nevertheless, the trial court dismissed Wyatte’s motion to suppress evidence, concluding the search warrant was based on a source independent from the initial, unlawful entry. See id.; see also Commonwealth v. Burton, 234 A.3d 824, 834 (Pa. Super. 2020) (“Under the [independent source doctrine], evidence tainted by illegal police conduct (such as an unlawful seizure) nevertheless may be admitted into evidence if the evidence can be fairly regarded as having an origin independent of the unlawful conduct.”) (citations omitted). We hold that law enforcement’s initial entry into 5604 Catharine Street was not unlawful because a search warrant was not required to enter 5604 Catharine Street to effectuate Wyatte’s arrest.
Based upon our review of the record, the independent source doctrine is inapplicable to the instant case. First, there is no unlawful police conduct regarding the entry to the Catharine Street residence. Second, there is nothing in the record that suggests police uncovered any evidence independently. Law enforcement had reason to believe Wyatte was in the home, but did not possess any reasonable belief, as we discuss infra, that there was any contraband in the home. Moreover, the above-described protective sweep did not reveal any contraband in plain view that may have amounted to an independent source. Accordingly, we conclude that the independent source doctrine is inapplicable.
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enforcement identified Wyatte as he exited the residence to smoke a cigarette
before re-entering the premises. See N.T. Motion Volume 1, 3/15/2022, at
11-12. Law enforcement, thus, had a reason to believe that Wyatte was in
the residence. This reason to believe Wyatte was present, coupled with the
arrest warrant, was sufficient to arrest Wyatte in 5604 Catharine Street
without violating his Fourth Amendment rights. See Stanley, 446 A.2d at
587; Mullen, 267 A.3d at 516-517 (applying Romero and concluding police
possessed valid arrest warrant and reasonable belief necessary to enter third-
party residence to arrest defendant). See also Commonwealth v. Demery,
2024 WL 1989034 at *10 (Pa. Super. 2024) 14 (rejecting appellant’s reliance
on Romero when appellant was arrested in a third-party’s residence because
“police possessed the arrest warrant and reasonable belief necessary to
lawfully enter the [third party’s] apartment”). 15
14See Pa.R.A.P. 126(a)-(b) (unpublished, non-precedential opinions of this Court filed after May 1, 2019, may be cited for persuasive value).
15 In Demery, law enforcement was conducting surveillance at a housing complex when they noticed Steven McQueen exit a vehicle, enter apartment 9G, and exit the apartment looking nervous and clutching something in front of his body. See Demery, 2024 WL 1989034, at *2. After performing a traffic stop on the vehicle for parking illegally in a handicap space, McQueen admitted to law enforcement that marijuana was in the vehicle, and that Robert Demery was in apartment 9G. See id. Law enforcement then learned that Demery had an active felony arrest warrant related to drug and firearms offenses. See id. Law enforcement eventually breached and arrested Demery inside the apartment, the leaseholder of which was Demery’s paramour. See id at *3. This Court dismissed Demery’s Romero argument, concluding that law enforcement had sufficient reasonable belief to enter the third-party (Footnote Continued Next Page)
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In conclusion, Wyatte’s case is not analogous to Romero,16 but rather
more aligned with the facts presented in Mullen and Demery. Consequently,
we reject Wyatte’s Romero claim, and conclude that law enforcement was
not required to obtain a search warrant prior to arresting Wyatte in the
Catharine Street apartment. See Romero, supra; Mullen, supra.
In his second sub-issue, Wyatte argues that the search warrant failed
to establish probable cause to search 5604 Catharine Street, as it did not state
a nexus between the alleged criminal activity and the residence. See Brief for
Appellant, at 13. Further, Wyatte contends that because more than three
months elapsed between the shooting and the search of the property, the
apartment since McQueen had just informed law enforcement Demery was inside. Id. at *10.
16 In Romero, a warrant was issued for a parolee’s arrest. See Romero, 183 A.3d at 372. The parole agent executed the warrant at the home of defendants, third parties unconnected to the parolee’s offense. Although the parolee was not present in the residence, law enforcement searched the property and found a suspected marijuana-growing operation. Id. The residents of the home were subsequently arrested and charged with numerous drug offenses. See id. The trial court granted the suppression motion filed by the home’s residents. On appeal, this Court reversed. On allowance of appeal, our Supreme Court concluded that this Court erred in reversing the suppression court’s order. See id. at 377. Specifically, our Supreme Court held that “[w]ith regard to any third party’s privacy interest in the targeted space, the arrest warrant, standing alone, fails to satisfy the mandate of the warrant requirement.” Id. at 397. The Court further held that “a search warrant reflecting a magisterial determination of probable cause is required” to protect a third party’s privacy interests in their own home. Id. at 395. The Court repeatedly made clear that this holding only implicated the rights of third parties, not those of an arrestee. Id. at 380 n. 6, 395, 397, 399, 404 n. 21.
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affidavit of probable cause was stale insofar as it failed to show that any
articles of evidentiary value might be stored at the Catharine Street address.
See id.
A search or seizure is unreasonable unless executed pursuant to a
search warrant issued by a neutral magistrate upon a determination of
probable cause. See Commonwealth v. Blasioli, 685 A.2d 151, 159 (Pa.
Super. 1996); Duke, supra. The determination of probable cause is made
by considering the totality of the circumstances, which requires the issuing
authority “to make a practical, common-sense decision whether, given all of
the circumstances set forth in the affidavit . . . there is a fair probability that
contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.”
Commonwealth v. Johnson, 42 A.3d 1017, 1031 (Pa. 2012) (internal
quotations omitted).
It is well-established that probable cause must be closely related to the
facts and time at which the search warrant is issued. See Commonwealth
v. Janda, 14 A.3d 147, 158-59 (Pa. Super. 2011). “If, however, it is
demonstrated that criminal conduct has[,] in fact[,] continued, then the
relevant information, in spite of its vintage, may not be deemed stale.”
Commonwealth v. Eazer, 312 A.2d 398, 399 (Pa. 1973). See also
Commonwealth v. Hagen, 368 A.2d 318, 322 (Pa. Super. 1976) (concluding
information at least one month old, without continuing criminal conduct, was
stale); Eazer, 312 A.2d at 400 (61-days old information stale absent evidence
of continuing criminal activity); Commonwealth v. Suppa, 302 A.2d 357,
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358-59 (Pa. Super. 1973) (16-days old information stale when affidavit of
probable cause offered unsupported assertions appellant’s use of residence
was to further criminal activity).
However, elapsed time alone is not dispositive. This Court has
explained:
[a]ge of information supporting a warrant application is a factor in determining probable cause. . . . The determination of probable cause is not merely an exercise in counting the days or even months between the facts relied on and the issuance of the warrant. Rather, we must also examine the nature of the crime and the type of evidence.
Commonwealth v. Gomolekoff, 910 A.2d 710, 713 (Pa. Super. 2006)
(citation and quotation marks omitted; emphasis added). See also
Commonwealth v. Klimkowicz, 479 A.2d 1086, 1089 (Pa. Super. 1986)
(“The issuing magistrate must consider the nature and quantity of items to be
seized, the time lapse involved, and the ease with which items may be
disposed.”).
The reviewing court must then determine whether the issuing authority
had a substantial basis for concluding probable cause existed. See
Commonwealth v. Sherwood, 982 A.2d 483, 503 (Pa. 2009). This Court,
therefore, “must accord deference to the issuing authority’s probable cause
determination[] and must view the information offered to establish probable
cause in a common-sense, non-technical manner.” Commonwealth v.
Jones, 764 A.2d 532, 539 (Pa. 2001).
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To establish probable cause, our Supreme Court provided the following
instruction:
Neither the Fourth Amendment nor Article I, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution explicitly requires individualized suspicion. Nonetheless, although not an “irreducible” component of reasonableness, the general rule is that probable cause must be predicated upon individualized suspicion, and that searches conducted without such suspicion ordinarily are deemed unreasonable.
Commonwealth v. Jacoby, 170 A.3d 1065, 1084 (Pa. 2017). Further, “[t]he
architects of our Constitutions rejected general searches, and instead charged
police officers with demonstrating specific and articulable facts to establish
probable cause that a particular person committed a particular crime[,] and
that evidence of that crime would be found in a particular place.” Id. at 1085.
In Jacoby, our Supreme Court considered whether probable cause
existed to authorize a search warrant for the home of the defendant, who was
the suspect in a murder committed 15 months prior. The Jacoby court first
held the affidavit contained sufficient probable cause to believe defendant was
the actor who committed the murder. Our Supreme Court then focused on
the search warrant procured to search defendant’s home. The affiant to the
search warrant asserted that “it was ‘reasonable’ to believe the murder
weapon was secreted in [defendant’s] house” 15 months after the murder
because defendant’s felon status barred him from lawfully acquiring another
firearm. Id. at 1083. The trial court found that the information supporting
probable cause was not stale for two reasons: first, because “guns are durable
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and sometimes valuable objects that people typically hold on to for the long
term” and, second, defendant’s felon status increased the likelihood that he
would retain a firearm he already possessed. Id. at 1083-84. Our Supreme
Court determined the affiant’s statement was “conjecture and speculation,
particularly considering the gap in time [between the murder and issuance of
the search warrant], and cannot suffice as probable cause on this point.” Id.
at 1083. Our Supreme Court then held that the trial court “reached similarly
speculative conclusions.” Id. Our Supreme Court concluded that the trial
court’s opinion, like the affidavit of probable cause, relied on generalized
statements about what unknown people under undefined circumstances
typically do.
Ultimately, the Court in Jacoby held that:
[p]robable cause to search [defendant’s] home did not exist simply because probable cause existed to believe that he had committed the murder, with a weapon of the same caliber as one that [defendant] owned, and then drove in the general direction of [defendant’s] home fifteen months before the search warrant was issued. Together and by themselves, these factors do not justify entry without some nexus to the home. The trial court overlooked the significant gap of time between the murder and the search, and then attempted to buttress its conclusion with an unsourced assessment of general human behavior. Without support, the trial court reasoned that people—felons especially— generally do not discard firearms, even those used in murders.
Id.
Instantly, guided by the Jacoby Court, our review of the record reveals
the trial court did not have a legal basis to determine probable cause existed
because the instant affidavit of probable cause failed to establish a substantial
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nexus between 5604 Catharine Street and the shooting incident of which
Wyatte was suspected.
Upon review, we note that the affidavit of probable cause fails to tie any
of the sought after items to 5604 Catharine Street. The warrant does not
include a description of the firearm seen in the shooting video or a description
of the “firearms” law enforcement sought with the search warrant. It also
does not include any information connecting Wyatte to the firearm seen in the
shooting video, let alone any firearm. There is no indication that, if Wyatte
was in possession a firearm, he would have retained the firearm three months
after the shooting incident. In fact, the affidavit does not include any specific
facts that Wyatte was the actor in the shooting from May 14, 2020. See
Jacoby, supra. In all, the affidavit failed to establish probable cause that the
weapon seen in the original shooting video would be found in 5604 Catharine
Street three months after the shooting. See Hagen, supra (“[i]t is the
criminal activity which must continue up to or about the time of the warrant,
not the investigation.”) (emphasis in original).
Additionally, the trial court, much like the trial court in Jacoby, baldly
determined that “[t]he firearm used [in a crime] is also not easily
‘transferable’ and has obvious use to a person who is the subject of an arrest
warrant and being searched for by the United States Marshal[]’s Gun Violence
Task Force.” Trial Court Opinion, 9/21/23, at 10. The trial court further stated
that “[i]t is reasonable to believe that a person . . . would continue to possess
their firearm a few months after the alleged attempted murder for which he
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is wanted.” Id. (emphasis added). The trial court erred by relying on
“generalized statements about what unknown people under undefined
circumstances typically do” and by not individualizing probable cause to the
circumstances of Wyatte’s case. See Jacoby, supra. Instead, it relied on
the assumption that “a person” would retain a firearm used in the commission
of a crime for several months after the crime. This overbroad generalization
is insufficient to support a finding of probable cause. See id. While we must
afford deference and view the warrant in a common-sense manner, there is
nothing in the search warrant to indicate that Wyatte had retained the
alleged firearm and that it would be stored at 5604 Catharine Street.
While in Jacoby our Supreme Court held that the probable cause supporting
the search warrant “failed” to manifest “suspicion individualized to the time
and place of the search,” it nonetheless held that the trial court’s probable
cause error was harmless.17 See Jacoby, 170 A.3d at 1084-85. Here, in
contrast, Wyatte was convicted of drugs and firearms offenses stemming from
the search and seizure of 5604 Catharine Street. We hold the search warrant
was constitutionally invalid; thus, evidence sized from 5604 Catharine Street
should have been suppressed. The use of unlawfully seized evidence to
convict Wyatte therefore was not harmless error. Accordingly, we reverse the
trial court’s denial of suppression. ____________________________________________
17 “An error is harmless if it could not have contributed to the verdict. In other words, an error cannot be harmless if there is a reasonable possibility the error might have contributed to the conviction.” Commonwealth v. Wright, 961 A.2d 119, 143 (Pa. 2008).
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As we have concluded the search warrant to be invalid and unsupported
by probable cause, the logical conclusion is that the resulting evidence was
seized unlawfully as fruit of the poisonous tree. See Santiago, supra. As
such, all of the evidence seized as a result of the above-described search
warrant must be suppressed. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s denial
of suppression, vacate Wyatte’s judgment of sentence, and remand for
proceedings consistent with this memorandum.
Order reversed. Judgment of sentence vacated. Case remanded.
Jurisdiction relinquished.
Murray, J., Joins this Memorandum.
Nichols, J., Concurs in the result.
Date: 9/27/2024
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