United States v. Jack W. Tripp

Jack W. Tripp, appellant, was convicted of possession of property stolen from the United States mails ( 18 U.S.C. § 1708 ) in a court trial. The sole issue here is whether the trial judge erred in denying Tripp’s motion to suppress evidence seized without a warrant.

The facts are not in dispute. On March 25, 1971, the Federal Reserve Bank in Seattle, Washington, sent by registered mail $80,000 in new ten dollar bills to the Alaska National Bank of Fairbanks. When the money arrived, it was placed in a safe at the Fairbanks, Alaska, Post Office. On the following morning the money was gone.

Six months later, when a ramp serviceman for Alaska Airlines at Fairbanks checked freight for damage, he shook a package and heard what he thought was broken glass. He took the package to the airline agent who saw that it was addressed to Fairbanks Office Supply Co., one of the airline’s large accounts. The agent told the serviceman to open the package and check it for damage. The package contained a framed Norman Rockwell print. When the agent attempted to shake out the broken glass, he found some ten dollar bills protruding from the backing of the frame. When he removed the backing he…