Hankerson v. State

Defendant appeals a conviction for possession of cocaine for sale. We agree the trial court should have granted his motion to suppress evidence obtained in an invalid search.

Two officers, Lucas and Schmidt, were involved in the search and seizure of defendant. Lucas heard that a certain address was a problem area in the community. Residents at homeowners meetings, along with reports from confidential informants, gave Lucas to believe that people might be selling drugs at this residence. He conducted surveillance from an unmarked vehicle.

Defendant arrived at the address late one afternoon and…