United States v. Donald Crawford

Appellant, Donald Crawford, was arrested pursuant to a federal arrest warrant, charging him with uttering and possessing counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 472 . Shortly after the arrest, state agents executing a state search warrant found $150,000 in counterfeit money and a photograph of Crawford surrounded by money. Crawford contended that his arrest was unlawful in its execution, because the agents violated the “knock and notice” requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 3109 and the agents violated the requirements of Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in their execution of the state search warrant. The motion to suppress was denied and Crawford was found guilty after a jury trial. Crawford appeals the district court’s ruling denying the motion to suppress. We hold that the district court’s ruling was proper and affirm the conviction.

I

Appellant first contends that the forced entry, without notice of authority and purpose, at the inner bedroom, made the arrest unlawful, violating the obligations imposed by 18 U.S.C. § 3109 .

A

On June 21, 1980, United States Secret Service Agent John Pavlick obtained a federal arrest warrant authorizing the…