Garcia
United States v. Garcia
Opinion
Opinion
I. BACKGROUND
In August 2002, a confidential informant told King County, Washington, local law enforcement officers that Garcia was UNITED STATES v. GARCIA 3323 involved in selling and manufacturing methamphetamine at his residence. The informant told detectives that he had been present when Garcia cooked methamphetamine in the resi- dence, that Garcia had three loaded firearms, and that Garcia often answered the door with a loaded shotgun.
On September 6, 2002, officers executed a search warrant at Garcia’s alleged residence in Renton, Washington. When the officers arrived, Garcia and two women were in the down- stairs portion of the house, and two other individuals — including the owner of the house, Carol Coley — were in the upstairs portion. When Garcia and two women emerged from the downstairs portion of the house, an officer shouted, “Po- lice with a search warrant!” and Garcia and his companions ran back into the house. One of the women then came out and told the officers that Garcia and the other woman remained inside with two shotguns. A SWAT team arrived, coaxed Gar- cia and the other woman out of the house, and took them into custody.