State v. Antoine D. Watts(074556)

In this appeal, we must determine whether the police acted unreasonably, in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey Constitution, in executing a warrant for the search of drugs on defendant Antoine D. Watts.

A warrant secured by the police authorized a no-knoek entry and search of defendant’s apartment and a search of defendant for controlled dangerous substances. Before executing the search warrant, police officers waited until defendant left his apartment. The officers detained defendant one and one-half blocks away on…