Trojan horse entry of home to serve city arrest warrant and search home

In each case, the trial judge must determine whether the officers went to the place to make a lawful arrest, and in making it, looked for evidence lawfully subject to seizure or whether the officers used a pretended arrest for one offense as a "trojan horse" in order to obtain entry, only to prosecute for some greater crime after finding sufficient evidence to justify their belief in greater crime. Handly at page 834. [Handley v. State, 430 P.2d 830 (Okl.Cr. 1967)]
Appellant contends that his arrest on a municipal bench warrant was a subterfuge to gain entrance to his home in order to search for evidence of other offenses, specifically illegal drugs, without having the benefit of a search warrant.

From the majority opinion in Lyons v. Clark, 1989 OK CR 86, 787 P.2d 460:

In support of his proposition Appellant directs this Court's attention to four cases, each from a different court, wherein it was held that the arrest was merely a pretext for an unlawful search. See United States v. Causey, 818 F.2d 354 (5th Cir. 1987), [787 P.2d 462] McKnight v. United States, 183 F.2d 977 (D.C. Cir. 1950), Harding v. State, 301 So.2d 513 (Fla.App. 1974), and Handley v. State, 430 P.2d 830 (Okl.Cr. 1967). A review of these cases reveals that in evaluating alleged violations of the Fourth Amendment the relevant test is whether the search was reasonable under the facts and circumstances of the case. In upholding the Appellant's claim in Causey, the Fifth Circuit relied on Scott v. United States, 436 U.S. 128, 98 S.Ct. 1717, 56 L.Ed.2d 168 (1978), wherein the United States Supreme Court stated that the critical question is an objective assessment of the officer's actions in light of the facts and circumstances confronting him at the time. The subjective intent alone does not make otherwise lawful conduct illegal or unconstitutional. 818 F.2d at 358.

A review of the facts of each of the cases cited by Appellant reveals situations wherein the arrest was clearly made to avoid operation of the Fourth Amendment. In Causey, a police officer testified that the sole reason for arresting the defendant on a seven year old warrant for failure to appear for a misdemeanor charge was to gain the opportunity for custodial interrogation of the defendant regarding a bank robbery. In McKnight, officers rejected an opportunity to arrest the defendant on a public street for carrying on a lottery, and instead waited until he entered a house, for which they had no search warrant, in order to seize evidence they hoped to find. In Harding, officers went to the defendant's house to arrest another individual with the clear knowledge that the defendant was involved in the local drug scene.

In Handley v. State, 430 P.2d 830 (Okl.Cr. 1967),the only case from this Court cited by Appellant, county sheriff's deputies, accompanied by two State Narcotic Agents, attempted to serve the defendant with an arrest warrant for the offense of second degree Burglary. As the officers approached the door to serve the warrant, they could see the defendant and his wife run into the bathroom and then return to the front door to admit the officers. Upon entering the house, the officers immediately went to the bathroom to see what had been hidden by the defendant and found drug paraphernalia. The narcotics officers then proceeded to crawl underneath the house and discovered a fruit jar containing morphine. This Court held that the facts did not constitute a reasonable search incident to the arrest for burglary. We stated that the conduct of the officers showed that the arrest warrant was a subterfuge for gaining entrance to the house and searching the premises without obtaining a search warrant. The Court specifically noted the pertinent facts resulting in that conclusion: the presence of State Narcotics Agents to serve a warrant for burglary, that the warrant was not one in which the officers would have been looking for evidence to support the burglary charge (as the defendant had been previously arrested on the same charge and it was assumed that the state had previously found the evidence for the burglary charge), and that the narcotics agents "miraculously discover[ed]" the fruit jar buried underneath the house. Id. at 832-833. This Court concluded that the proper test of a reasonable search and seizure is based upon the entire factual situation. In each case, the trial judge must determine whether the officers went to the place to make a lawful arrest, and in making it, looked for evidence lawfully subject to seizure or whether the officers used a pretended arrest for one offense as a "trojan horse" in order to obtain entry, only to prosecute for some greater crime after finding sufficient evidence to justify their belief in greater crime. Id. at 834.

The above is from Judge Lumkin’s opinion in LYONS v. STATE, 1989 OK CR 86, 787 P.2d 460, which ruled against the defendant and upheld the conviction despite the “Trojan horse” arguments.