West v. United States

SCHWELB, Associate Judge:

Following the denial of his pre-trial motion to suppress physical evidence, James N. West, Jr. entered a conditional plea of guilty of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute it, in violation of D.C.Code § 33—541(a)(1) (1993). On appeal, he contends that police officers who had secured a warrant to search his apartment for narcotics violated the applicable “knock and announce” statute, D.C.Code § 33-565(g), by prematurely forcing entry into the apartment with a battering ram. He therefore claims that the evidence recovered as a result of that entry should have…