United States v. Thomas Rettig, United States of America v. Gary Nowak

Rettig and Nowak appeal from judgments of conviction entered after a jury found them guilty of multiple conspiracies to import cocaine and to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), 846, 952, 960, 963. We reverse the convictions of both appellants.

The indictment charged that on several occasions Rettig or Nowak or both went to Lima, Peru, purchased cocaine from a Peruvian source, and then gave the cocaine to hired couriers to carry back to the United States by various clandestine methods. Witnesses for the Government testified that Rettig and Nowak originated the scheme and financed it. In addition to this testimony, the Government built its case in substantial part on evidence seized from Ret-tig’s residence at Morro Bay, California. The question on this appeal is whether or not that evidence was discovered by a lawful search.

The search of the residence purportedly was executed pursuant to a search warrant issued by a state judge on April 3,1975, but a full understanding of the circumstances of the case requires consideration of the events of the preceding day. On April 2 Drug Enforcement Agency agents asked a federal magistrate in Los Angeles to…