State v. Kellenbeck

The defendant appeals his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. RSA 159:3 (Supp. 1983). The issues presented are: (1) whether there was probable cause to support the issuance of a search warrant; and (2) assuming the validity of the search warrant, whether the scope of the actual search, pursuant to *762the warrant, amounted to an impermissible general exploratory search. For the reasons which follow, we reverse.

On September 1, 1982, the Portsmouth Police Department sought a warrant permitting it to search the premises located at 282 Hanover Street in Portsmouth and the person…