State v. Curet

Syllabus

Convicted, on a conditional plea of nolo contendere, of possession of narcot- ics with intent to sell, the defendant appealed to this court. Z, a police officer, responded to a 911 call of an attempted robbery and report of gunshots made by C, a resident of the defendant's apartment building. C reported seeing two men enter the building and then heard loud knocking on the door of the defendant's apartment, followed by an altercation that started in front of the defendant's apartment and moved to the laundry room, which was directly beneath C's apartment. C informed the 911 dispatcher that he believed someone had tried to break into the defendant's apartment and that the two men he had observed enter the building had later fled in two separate vehicles. He also indi- cated that he had discovered a knife. When Z arrived at the apartment building, he spoke with C regarding the incident and then conducted an investigation of the building. Z observed pry marks and fresh paint chips on the floor near the defendant's apartment and that the laundry room was in disarray. In the laundry room, Z found a black and white flip flop sandal that matched one he had seen outside the building, a spent shell casing on the floor, and a bullet hole in the doorframe of the laundry room exit door. He also found what appeared to be a small, fresh blood like stain on the wall adjacent to the exit door of the laundry room. On the basis of his observations and the fact that C had discovered a knife, Z believed that someone may have been shot or stabbed. He proceeded to interview the residents of the building and determined that no one was injured. When he knocked on the door of the defendant's apartment, however, he received no response, discovered the door was locked when he tried to open it, and he could not see into the apartment because the blinds were closed. Z then called his superior officer, T, and explained the evidence and his belief that someone may be injured inside the defendant's