People v. Superior Court (Brown)

The People petition for appropriate writ relief (Pen. Code, § 1538.5, subd. (o)) following grant by the superior court of the motion of the real party in interest, David Michael Brown (hereinafter “defendant”), to suppress evidence seized in the execution of a search warrant on premises occupied by defendant. The trial court concluded that the affidavit in support of the warrant was insufficient in that there was no statement of fact therein justifying a search at that particular location.

The motion to suppress followed the filing of an information charging defendant with burglaiy (Pen. Code, § 459) and grand theft (Pen. Code, §§ 484, 487). The charges were based upon the theft of personal property in the burglaiy of a residence in Colusa, California.

In that the instant proceeding turns upon the sufficiency of the affidavit for search warrant, the affidavit is set out in part as follows:

The return to the search warrant disclosed that with the conspicuous exception of cash, most of the stolen items were recovered from the defendant’s residence.

We preface our review of the sufficiency of the affidavit with a summaiy of decisional law prescribing the scope and manner…