Morton

Here the trial court concluded that detectives’ entry onto private property was justified by the community caretaking exception to the search warrant requirement. That conclusion is not supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, the denial of defendants’ suppression motion is reversed.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Defendants Robert and Merideth Morton operate a commercial nursery in Santa Rosa and live on the property. During the week of September 24, 2001, an unidentified man called the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department and reported that his neighbors, the defendants, were cultivating marijuana at the nursery. On September 28, detectives Andrea Salas and Stephen Gossett, assigned to a marijuana suppression team, visited the nursery but saw no indication of marijuana cultivation.

On October 9, 2001, a person describing himself as a neighbor of the nursery left a message with the Sheriff’s Department. The neighbor gave his first name and asked for “a call back in regards to marijuana cultivation.” Salas returned the call about 1:00 p.m. The neighbor expressed concern that the nursery was cultivating marijuana and that “something must have happened over the…