State v. Shore

183 N.W.2d 776, 289 Minn. 302
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedFebruary 12, 1971
Docket41533
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 183 N.W.2d 776 (State v. Shore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Shore, 183 N.W.2d 776, 289 Minn. 302 (Mich. 1971).

Opinion

Frank T. Gallagher, Justice.

Appeal from convictions for burglary and theft entered by the district court following jury verdicts of guilty.

Early in the morning on September 2,1967, there was a break-in at the Massey-Ferguson store in Crookston, Minnesota. In response to a call from the Crookston Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension sent Mr. Donald Koski to aid in investigation of the occurrence. Koski immediately ascertained that personal tools and an outboard motor had been taken from the store. During the course of investigation, he “lifted” several fingerprints from objects inside the store.

On October 20,1967, Koski was advised by the bureau’s fingerprint expert that one of the fingerprints “lifted” by him from a package of cigarettes displaced from a cigarette machine during the break-in had been identified as belonging to defendant, Weldon F. Shore. On October 27, 1967, Koski submitted an application for a search warrant to a judge of the Hennepin County Municipal Court. The application was supported by an affidavit signed by Koski which contained the following statements: Koski, as an agent for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, had investigated a burglary on request of Crookston police; his personal investigation had revealed that tools, some marked with the initials “D. P.”, and an outboard motor had been stolen; he had discovered and “lifted” a latent fingerprint from a package of cigarettes displaced during the burglary and theft; he had read a report of the State Crime Laboratory which stated that *304 the fingerprint was identified as belonging to Weldon F. Shore; Koski had also read a report by a Minneapolis Police Department detective stating that Shore lived at 2223 Riverside Avenue and owned a 1959 Ford station wagon, and that neighbors had observed merchandise of various sorts being carried into the house at 2223 Riverside during the evening hours; Koski had personal knowledge that Shore was in Crookston at the time of the burglary and theft; a complaint had been signed against, and an arrest warrant issued for, Shore; and that Koski believed part or all of the property taken in the Massey-Ferguson burglary was located at 2223 Riverside Avenue.

The judge issued a search warrant directing a search of the premises on the first floor of 2223 Riverside Avenue for the tools and outboard motor as specified in the Koski affidavit.

Police officers in possession of both the arrest and search warrants “staked out” 2223 Riverside Avenue until the defendant arrived and entered the house. Defendant was arrested a short time later as he emerged from the house. After his arrest he was given a copy of the search warrant. A copy of the search warrant was then presented to the occupant of the premises, the house was searched, and various objects were taken into custody. An inventory of the items seized revealed that items other than those specifically listed in the warrant were taken into custody.

At a subsequent Rasmussen hearing, the admissibility of all seized objects was challenged on the grounds that (1) the search warrant was not issued upon probable cause, and (2) property not listed in the warrant was seized. The trial court ruled against defendant at the Rasmussen hearing.

At defendant’s trial in the Polk County District Court, six of the seized objects were introduced over objection. Defendant also entered timely objection to the contents of the complaint, the information, the state’s opening statement, and the jury instructions, made on the ground that they contained no contention that, and did not allow the jury to determine whether, the structure *305 broken into was a “building” as defined in Minn. St. 609.58, subd. 1(2).

The jury returned verdicts of guilty against defendant on charges of burglary (Minn. St. 1967, § 609.58, subd. 2 [3]) and theft (Minn. St. 609.52, subd. 2[1]). Pursuant to the verdicts the trial court adjudged defendant guilty of these crimes and imposed concurrent sentences.

On this appeal defendant renews his objections to the admission into evidence of items seized on the grounds that (1) there was an insufficient showing of probable cause to sustain issuance of the search warrant, and (2) the objects introduced were not specified in the warrant. In addition, defendant assigns as prejudicial error the failure to submit to the jury the question of whether the Massey-Ferguson store is a “building” as that term is defined in § 609.58, subd. 1(2).

Defendant contends that the Koski affidavit, the sole basis for the issuance of the warrant, was primarily hearsay and that it did not satisfy the requirement for a showing of probable cause to justify issuance of a search warrant based on hearsay.

In the recent decision of State v. Pietraszewski, 285 Minn. 212, 172 N. W. (2d) 758, this court construed Spinelli v. United States, 393 U. S. 410, 89 S. Ct. 584, 21 L. ed. (2d) 637, as establishing a two-part standard by which a reviewing court can determine whether facts presented to a magistrate are sufficient to permit him to exercise independent judgment in the issuance of a search warrant. We said (285 Minn. 217, 172 N. W. [2d] 762):

“* * * First, facts which led the affiant to conclude that there was probable cause for a search must be presented in sufficient detail to permit the magistrate to make an independent determination as to the existence of probable cause. Second, the magistrate must be presented with the affiant’s source of information, and where, as in this case, the source is other than personal observation, additional facts must be presented on which the *306 magistrate ean independently judge the reliability of the source. We have applied this test in State v. Burch, 284 Minn. 300, 170 N. W. (2d) 543, and State v. Miernik, 284 Minn. 316, 170 N. W. (2d) 231.”

Applying that test we conclude that this search warrant was issued in accordance with constitutional safeguards. The Koski affidavit, as summarized above, was sufficiently detailed to permit the magistrate to make an independent judgment of probable cause to search for the specified property, and the facts presented in the affidavit were sufficient to support the magistrate’s finding of probable cause. State v. Pietraszewski, supra; State v. Bagley, 286 Minn. 180, 175 N. W. (2d) 448. In Minnesota, the second facet of the test is met upon a showing that the information in the affidavit was obtained from other police officers and from personal investigation. State v. Burch, 284 Minn. 300, 170 N. W. (2d) 543.

Defendant contends that the trial court erred in permitting the introduction of seized objects which were not specified in the search warrant.

At trial, the state introduced 6 objects seized from the premises at 2223 Riverside Avenue as state’s Exhibits 2 through 7.

Exhibits 4, 6, and 7 were, respectively, 3/4", 9/16", and 5/8" box and open-end wrenches bearing the engraved initials “D. P.” The Koski affidavit and the search warrant listed “one set open-end and box wrenches” and further stated that “some of said tools [were] marked with initials ‘D.

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183 N.W.2d 776, 289 Minn. 302, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-shore-minn-1971.