United States v. Roland Errol Brock

Conviction and Appeal:

Roland Errol Brock (Brock) appeals from a court trial conviction and sentence to custody entered by the District Court for violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1542 (false statement in a passport application). We affirm.

Issues:

Brock contends the District Court erred in denying his motion to suppress the fruits of a state search for the reason the state search warrant was issued without probable cause. Brock further asserts the search was undertaken to locate evidence relating to a federal crime without probable cause to believe that a federal crime had been committed.

Facts:

In February, 1975, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began a “false identification investigation” regarding the use of the name “Edward Joseph Zupancic.” Special Agent Durr’s attention was directed to Brock and in the course of his investigation discovered that the San Diego Police Department was also investigating Brock for the murder of Charles Britell, whose body had been found in the Arizona desert on March 12, 1975. On March 19, Durr accompanied a San Diego policeman and an officer from Arizona to Brock’s hotel room. Brock identified himself as “Ron Soubya” and refused consent to…