United States v. Gregory A. Dickey

Dickey, after a court trial, was found guilty, sentenced and placed on probation for a violation of the National Firearms Act as amended Oct. 22, 1968, P.L. 90-618, 82 Stat. 1227 , for possession of an unregistered firearm, 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841 , 5861(d) and 5871. He raises two issues on appeal from that judgment. 1) The weapon was the product of an illegal search. 2) The evidence was insufficient to support a conviction. We affirm.

The weapon was found under Dickey’s bed by police officers executing a search warrant for marihuana. Dickey contends that the warrant was issued in violation of the Supreme Court’s dictates in Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108 , 84 S, Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964) and Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410 , 89 S.Ct. 584 , 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969). Examination of the affidavit for the search warrant rebuts Dickey’s contention. The affidavit states that the informant in the case had supplied information “which was beneficial to agents investigation of illegal narcotics traffic” on a prior occasion. The informant had also “under the direction and control of [affiant] purchased narcotics further proving the informant’s reliability.” The affidavit further…