United States v. Theodore Alexander Smith

Appellant was convicted of armed bank robbery. During trial the district court had denied his motion to suppress statements made to the F.B.I. following his arrest. On appeal a partial remand was ordered for the limited purpose of determining whether probable cause existed for the issuance of the arrest warrant. United States v. Smith, 456 F.2d 1236 (9 Cir. 1972).

At the remand hearing the complaint and affidavit underlying the issuance of the warrant were admitted into evidence. No other evidence was presented by either side. The district court held that there was “probable cause, as evidenced by this complaint and affidavit * * * for the issuance of the arrest warrant.” We agree and affirm.

The complaint, sworn to by an F.B.I. agent, charged appellant and another with armed robbery of a bank. It is recited that one of the victim tellers and the bank manager both identified the other person from a group of photographs “as the robber,” and that the manager of the bank from the same photographs identified appellant “as the man who stood guard in the lobby of the bank.” While the complaint does not state specifically that the bank manager personally saw the crime committed,…