United States v. El Farra

BACKGROUND

On May 28, 2005, members of the Narcotics Unit of the City of Oceanside Police Department (“Narcotics Unit”) searched the residence of Mohammad El Farra pursuant to a search warrant issued by the Superior Court of California for the County of San Diego. Mohammad El Farra is the adult son of Basel and Fatima El Farra, in whose house he lived at the time of the search.1 The search uncovered firearms, nearly one and a half pounds of marijuana, a digital scale, packaging materials and a heat sealer. Although the agents conducted a cursory sweep of the rest of the house, the search focused on Mohammad’s bedroom and bathroom, where all the incrimi- nating evidence was found. After the search, the Narcotics Unit seized $40,955 in U.S. currency, most of which was found in a safe in Mohammad’s bedroom closet. Mohammad told a Narcotics Unit detective, Gregory Rainwater, that everything in the safe was his, and that most of the money was proceeds from his drug sales, which he conducted from his bedroom.

During the search, Narcotics Unit agents kept Basel, Fat- ima, Mohammad, and Basel and Fatima’s daughter and grand- daughter in the living room. There, Basel told the agents…