United States v. Allan Gale Cleaveland

Allan Gale Cleaveland appeals his conviction following entry of a conditional plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g). He contends the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from his house pursuant to a search warrant. He argues the affidavit used by police to obtain the warrant was based on evidence found during a warrantless search by Portland General Electric Company (PGE) employees acting in conjunction with law enforcement officers.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . Because PGE’s independent motive for its search was not overridden by intrusive police participation, we affirm.

FACTS

PGE’s Energy Recovery Unit (ERU) is responsible for locating power diversions and collecting money owed PGE for the theft of its electricity. The ERU received an anonymous tip there was an illegal power diversion and a possible marijuana grow at Cleave-land’s residence.

In such a case, it is quite common for PGE to contact the police. Thus, when the ERU received the anonymous tip, Steve Sprague, an ERU supervisor, reported this to the Lake Oswego police. He told them he was going to inspect the…