United States v. Roshon E. Thomas, AKA Rollin Roy Phillips

This case requires us to consider whether a driver of a rental car who is not listed on the rental agreement has standing to challenge a police search of the vehicle.

I

Michael Bahr, a Spokane City, Washington, police officer and Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) task force officer, received a tip regarding the defendant-appellant, Roshon Thomas, in November 2002. Officer Bahr never met with the undisclosed source of the tips (“the Source”), whose identity has remained confidential out of concern for the individual’s safety. Officer Bahr spoke with the Source over the phone, determined its identity, and learned that the Source had never been arrested or convicted of a criminal offense. The Source received no compensation for the information provided to Officer Bahr. The Source told Officer Bahr that Thomas had been renting cars — or instructing others to rent them for him— which he would use to transport crack cocaine from Long Beach, California, to Spokane, Washington. Approximately 1-2 years earlier, the Source rented a vehicle at Thomas’s direction. Thomas and the Source drove the vehicle to Long Beach, where the Source was present when Thomas purchased crack cocaine, which…