APPEALS COURT BRINGS DRUGS, WEAPONS BACK INTO EVIDENCE March 26, 2008 The Massachusetts Appeals Court yesterday reversed a Superior Court ruling that would have kept drugs, ammunition, and a sawed-off shotgun out of evidence, making it possible now for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office to move forward with a 30-year-old Dorchester man’s prosecution. On Aug. 12, 2004, Boston Police officers responded to a radio call for an incident on the third floor of an Abbott Street apartment building. After arriving at the Dorchester complex and on their way up the stairs to the third floor, the officers detected a strong odor of fresh marijuana emanating from a second floor apartment but continued up the stairs to the third floor to investigate the reported call. After clearing the call, they returned to the second floor. The officers again noticed the strong odor of fresh marijuana coming from one of the apartments. The officers knocked on that apartment’s door and, after announcing themselves, heard the sound of people running within the apartment. MATTHEW STREETER (D.O.B. 10/21/77) opened the rear door of the apartment and stepped into the hallway, locking the door behind him. Officers observed that he appeared nervous, was shaking, and had difficulty speaking. Following these observations, officers asked Streeter if anyone was inside the apartment. After an initial denial, Streeter indicated that another adult was inside. When officers asked about the odor of marijuana, Streeter allegedly told them that he had been smoking marijuana earlier that day but denied that there was fresh marijuana in the apartment. After asking the occupant inside the apartment to open the door, officers saw in plain sight two bags of marijuana and two cigar boxes containing loose marijuana and seeds on the kitchen table. The officers performed a protective sweep of the premises, finding a closed bag with the shape and feel of what appeared to be a firearm, and froze the scene pending the execution of a search warrant. In the course of executing that warrant, additional Boston Police officers recovered marijuana, a sawed-off shotgun, and numerous rounds of ammunition in various types and calibers from Streeter’s apartment. A Suffolk County grand jury later indicted Streeter on drug and weapons charges. On Oct. 13, 2005, a Superior Court judge granted a motion by the defendant’s attorney to suppress all the evidence recovered from the search, citing a lack of probable cause to perform the search in which they were discovered. Prosecutors assigned to Conley’s Appeals Division appealed that ruling, arguing that the odor of marijuana, the defendant’s evasive and nervous behavior, and his incriminating statements all gave investigators probable cause to believe a crime was being committed and that evidence could be removed or destroyed if they did not take preventative action. In a eight-page decision authored by Justice Scott L. Kafker, the Appeals Court ruled that “the search was independently supported and the exclusion of the evidence was unwarranted” because “the officers were legally in the hallway of the apartment building investigating a report of an unrelated crime when they first smelled the marijuana emanating from the defendant’s apartment” and knocked on the defendant’s door. The MAC also found that “entry into the defendant’s apartment was reasonable” because “the officers had specific information to support an objectively reasonable belief that the marijuana could be destroyed [by the other occupant] if they did not enter the apartment.” Finally,the MAC determined that the sawed-off shotgun should not be suppressed because, “while the external search of the bag was not lawful … [the] evidence would still be admissible against the defendant if the police would have independently or inevitably discovered it pursuant to the search authorized by the excised search warrant.” The MAC concluded that “the search for narcotics authorized by the excised warrant application would have certainly turned up the gun and ammunition evidence here.” Conley praised the decision. “Our trial and appellate lawyers work tirelessly to ensure that each and every one of our cases is built ethically and appropriately to withstand not just the scrutiny of a jury, but also constitutional review by the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the Supreme Judicial Court,” he said. “At the end of the day, this is a case of illegal weapons and illegal drugs kept unsecured in a residential building. It’s our duty and obligation to prosecute the man who kept them there and risked his neighbors’ lives in doing so.” Streeter is represented by attorney Derege B. Demissie. A court date in Suffolk Superior Court will be scheduled in the upcoming weeks. Return to the Press Releases page.