Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of possession of a controlled substance. Court erred in denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence seized during a warrantless search. Officer recovered a blue bag from above inside doorframe of outer door. State failed to present evidence that building was a multi-unit building and that area searched was accessible to others, and thus the entire building is considered a single-family home, which includes area above the inside doorframe. Officer's act of reaching above the inside doorframe was well beyond what an ordinary private citizen could do, where officer physically intruded on inside of home to gather evidence. Even though bag was found to contain suspect narcotics, incriminating nature of bag was not readily apparent, and thus plain view doctrine did not apply. No exigent circumstances justified warrantless entry. (HARRIS and MIKVA, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Search & Seizure