U.S. v. Rivera

In prosecution on drug conspiracy charge, Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendants’ motion to suppress warrantless search of defendants’ garage and vehicle, where said search occurred minutes after informant reported to police that he had just seen cocaine in defendants’ garage while making arrangements for its purchase. Ct. rejected Dist. Ct.’s belief that doctrine of “consent once removed” applied, where record showed that no one other than informant had ever been invited into garage, and where informant was not in danger at time he informed police about presence of cocaine. Ct., though, found that inevitable discovery exception to exclusionary rule applied, since: (1) warrant would have been issued based upon what informant told police; and (2) delay in obtaining warrant would have risked disappearance of cocaine.