Howard

I. BACKGROUND

Curtis Ray Howard was convicted of bank robbery in 1996. On April 14, 2003, he was placed on supervised release, and Probation Officer Robert Aquino was assigned to monitor him. Howard’s release was subject to a number of conditions, including a search clause allowing the “warrantless search of his residence, person, property, and automobile” at any time to ensure that he was complying with the conditions of his supervised release and that he “not associate with any persons engaged in criminal activity . . . or convicted of a felony.” Howard reported to Aquino that his current residence was at 4879 East Owens in Las Vegas.

Howard met Tammi Barner on a bus, and the two started having a relationship. On May 14, 2003, Barner met with Aquino to request permission to continue her relationship with Howard. Barner was a seven-time convicted felon, was on state probation, and was recovering from an addiction to cocaine. Since the conditions of Howard’s supervised release prevented him from associating with known felons and Aquino and his supervisor determined that the relationship was not conducive to Howard’s rehabilitation, he informed Barner and Howard that they would…