State v. Morgan

Defendant was convicted of theft in the first degree for her role in stealing copper wire from Portland General Electric (PGE). On appeal, she assigns error to the trial court’s denial of her motion to suppress evidence obtained through what she argues was an unlawful search of the motel room where she was living. The trial court ruled that the search was lawful because police officers had probable cause to arrest two people whom they observed loading the copper wire into a car and then entering the room, and that exigent circumstances justified police in entering the motel room to arrest…