Batterer Can't Exclude Warrantless Meth Search
Batterer Can't Exclude Warrantless Meth Search
(CN) - Police did not need a warrant to enter a trailer being used as a meth lab since the threat of domestic violence created an emergency situation, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled.
Robert Duane Gibson III threatened to stab girlfriend, Lisa Bevin, in the head when she got upset that he was preparing to cook meth in the trailer.
When Anchorage police arrived at the scene, they heard a woman screaming and crying. Bevin then tumbled out of the trailer wearing only a tank top. She was crying for help with a bleeding head and swollen eye.
Officers handcuffed Gibson when he exited the trailer and put an agitated Bevin in the patrol car.
While clearing the trailer later to check for more people who could have been involved in the altercation, officers discovered evidence of a meth lab. The drug unit then obtained a search warrant and seized the meth-production evidence.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/18/43146.htm