United States v. Royce Wayne Dugger

Dugger appeals his conviction for unlawfully possessing a firearm, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861 (d) and 5871, contending that evidence and statements admitted against him at trial were the product of an unlawful warrantless entry into his apartment and should have been suppressed.

I.

In the early morning hours of May 13, 1977, two Clark County, Washington, depu ty sheriffs responded to a report of a fistfight at an apartment complex. The officers arrived about one hour after the fight had ended and they interviewed the alleged victim of the assault, one Larson. The officers then followed a trail of blood leading from Larson back to Dugger’s apartment, where they observed blood on the front door and keys in the lock. They rang the doorbell “two or three times,” but heard no response from inside. Then, one of the officers, uninvited, turned the key, pushed the door open, and stepped back away from the open door. The officers then called to Dugger and identified themselves as being from the sheriff’s department. They heard no immediate response. Then, a male within the apartment called out that he was putting on his shoes and would be right out.

What happened next is in…