State v. Hatchie

¶1 We are asked to determine if a misdemeanor arrest warrant gives police the “authority of law” to enter someone’s home. Wash. Const. art. I, § 7.1

Sanders, J.

¶2 The police entered Raymond Hatchie’s house looking for Eric Schinnell. They had a misdemeanor arrest warrant for Schinnell and believed he lived in Hatchie’s duplex. But Schinnell was merely a guest, not a resident. Before the police found Schinnell hiding under a truck in the garage, they saw evidence of methamphetamine manufacturing in plain view. Based upon these observations, they obtained a search warrant for Hatchie’s house and…