State Of Louisiana v. Raymond Antwan Magee

STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT
STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 2021 KW 0762

VERSUS
RAYMOND ANTWAN MAGEE OCTOBER 08, 2021

In Re: State of Louisiana, applying for supervisory writs,
22nd Judicial District Court, Parish of St. Tammany,
No. 3583-F-2019.

BEFORE: WHIPPLE, C.J., PENZATO AND HESTER, JJ.

WRIT GRANTED. The trial court's ruling granting the motion
to suppress the defendant's cell phone is reversed. "The right
of the police to conduct a personal effects inventory search at
the time of an arrested person's booking is a recognized
exception to the search warrant requirement." La. Code Crim. P.
art. 228; State v. Nuccio, 454 So.2d 93, 98 (La. 1984) (citing
United States v. Edwards, 415 U.S. 800, 94 S.Ct. 1234, 39
L.Ed.2d 771 (1974)). Furthermore, the supreme court has
recognized the right of the police to seize items of evidence,
which become exposed during a booking inventory search. State v.
Bryant, 325 So.2d 255, 258 (La. 1975). As the defendant had
previously been lawfully deprived of possession of the cell
phone, and the custody and control of that object was
legitimately under the dominion of the police, it was not an
unreasonable search and seizure for the police to use it as
evidence of another crime. Furthermore, the detective procured
a search warrant before searching the contents of the cell
phone. See Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373, 134 S.Ct. 2473,
189 L.Ed.2d 430 (2014). Accordingly, this matter is remanded to
the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this
ruling.
VGW
AHP
CHH

COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT

COURT
FOR THE COURT