United States v. Dennis Seybold

Seybold was convicted on stipulated facts of possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861 (d) and 5871. On appeal, he challenges the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence as illegally obtained. Sey-bold contends that the affidavit supporting the warrant pursuant to which his residence was searched was insufficient to establish probable cause for the search. We affirm.

I

On June 16, 1982, Seybold was indicted, along with thirty-two other defendants, by a grand jury, The indictment charged Sey-bold with conspiring to manufacture phe-nyl-2-propanone and conspiring to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. He was also charged with several of the sub stantive offenses in the seventy-three-count indictment. On June 18, a special agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) applied to a federal magistrate for a warrant authorizing the search of Seybold’s residence. In support of his application, the DEA agent submitted a seven-page affidavit which incorporated a copy of the indictment. The magistrate issued the search warrant on June 21, 1982.

The search warrant was executed the following day. Seybold was present at the…