United States v. John Cates

John Cates appeals his conviction for receipt of firearms by a felon. We affirm.

Appellant alleges that a state warrant to search his residence was invalid, and that, therefore, the evidence found as a result of the federal search, which was based upon the state search, must be suppressed. See Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 , 83 S.Ct. 407 , 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963). He asserts that the affidavit supporting the state warrant does not meet the requirements for the use of informants under Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108 , 84 S.Ct. 1509 , 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964), and Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410 , 89 S.Ct. 584 , 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969). We disagree. The affidavit contains enough of the underlying circumstances so that the finding of probable cause was adequately supported. The informant related personally observed facts. It is not critical that he did not state how he knew that the contraband was a controlled substance. United States v. Shipstead, 433 F.2d 368, 372 (9th Cir. 1970); but see State v. Matlock, 27 Wash.App. 152 , 616 P.2d 684 (1980). Also, the informant here appears to have been a disinterested party. An informant may be deemed credible where, as here, he…