United States v. Danny Lee Kyllo

Defendant-Appellant Danny Lee Kyllo was convicted on one count of manufacturing marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1) and sentenced to 63 months. Before trial, Kyllo filed a motion to suppress all the evidence obtained in a search of his residence. The district court denied his motion. We vacate this conviction and remand for further proceedings.

I

Factual Background

In 1990, a law enforcement task force began investigating Sam Shook for the crime of conspiring to grow and distribute marijuana. In July 1991, four search warrants were issued and executed by the task force. As a result of evidence obtained from these searches, the task force began to focus on Sam Shook’s daughter, Tova. On January 16, 1992, Special Agent Elliott took Sergeant Daniel Haas of the Oregon National Guard to the respective homes of Danny Kyllo and Tova Shook, where Haas used a thermal imaging device to detect the level of heat within the homes. Special Agent Elliott submitted an affidavit stating that the level of power usage at Kyllo’s residence was indicative of drug manufacturing and that Kyllo’s wife had been recently arrested for possession and delivery of a controlled substance. Based…