Commonwealth v. Pina

Summary

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that an affidavit supporting a warrant to search the defendant’s apartment did not establish probable cause because it failed to provide a sufficient nexus between the defendant’s drug-selling activity and his residence. The court affirmed the order suppressing cocaine, marijuana, cash, and other items seized during the search.

Holdings

1. The affidavit did not establish probable cause to search the defendant's apartment because it failed to provide a sufficient nexus between the defendant's drug-selling activity and the apartment.
2. The warrant lacked probable cause because the affidavit did not establish a timely and substantial nexus between the apartment and the suspected drug activity.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the affidavit established probable cause to search the defendant's apartment for cocaine, marijuana, cash, and related evidence.
2. Whether the defendant's residence, his drug sales, and one observation of him driving from the residence to a drug transaction supplied a sufficient nexus between the residence and the suspected drug activity.

Disposition

affirmed