United States v. Robby Dean Hole

Appellant argues that the district court should have granted his motion to suppress evidence on the ground that the affidavit submitted in support of the request for search warrant contained an unintentional, though material, false statement. We disagree and affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

On June 29,1976, an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Enforcement, Department of the Treasury (“ATF agent”) submitted an affidavit in support of a request for a search warrant to a magistrate of the district court. According to the affidavit, a named licensed firearms dealer told the agent that appellant Hole purchased a certain rifle from the dealer. The affidavit further stated that the ATF agent obtained a criminal record report on Hole from the California Department of Justice. The affidavit accurately summarized the report, which stated that Hole was arrested for possession of marijuana in Oklahoma in 1970 and that he thereupon entered McAlester State Prison to serve a ten-year sentence. The report also stated that Hole was “released” in 1971.

The record, as furnished by the California Department of Justice and summarized by the ATF agent, was incomplete and…