State v. Heyne / Yunke

In providing a search warrant, a reasonable magistrate may believe that marijuana and marijuana-related items will be found at a defendant’s residence when the defendant lists the residence on an expired medical-marijuana card after he is pulled over and found to possess a large amount of marijuana without proof of a current medical-marijuana card.

The State appealed pretrial orders in two consolidated cases suppressing evidence that was recovered from a search of defendant's home. Defendant Yunke was pulled over by an officer and gave consent to search his vehicle. Eleven ounces of marijuana was found in the vehicle after Yunke consented to a search. Yunke provided the officer with an expired medical-marijuana card and said that he had already applied for a new card. The officer instructed Yunke to go home and bring proof of the renewal form to the office that day. After Yunke failed to bring the renewal information to the police station a search warrant was issued for his home wherein marijuana and related items were found. Yunke and his cohabitant successfully filed motions to suppress the evidence found in the home because the search warrant did not establish a connection between marijuana in Yunke’s vehicle and a search of his residence. On review, the Court determined that the officer’s affidavit did in fact provide sufficient facts to connect defendant’s home to the marijuana seized from Yunke’s vehicle because his card was expired, his vehicle contained a “dealer amount” of marijuana, and his expired card listed the searched address as his location for growing marijuana. Some orders suppressing evidence reversed, otherwise affirmed.