People v. Mabrouk

In People v. Mabrouk, 290 A.D.2d 235 (1st Dept. 2002), the court found that the search warrant affiant, Detective Rivera, properly relied upon information supplied by a registered informant and a recording industry investigator when applying for the warrant. The warrant was for the recovery of counterfeit compact discs from a "basement apartment of a multi-story brick apartment building at 2114 Daly Avenue." At the time he applied for the warrant, Detective Rivera had been told that there was a grey metal door which was the entrance to the basement. Furthermore, he was advised that behind the grey metal door were two white doors with cylinder locks off a hallway. The detective was informed that the defendant lived behind the doorway to the right and that behind the other white door was the place where the compact discs were kept. Before obtaining the search warrant, the detective in Mabrouk had verified that there was only one apartment in the basement of the location to be searched. Nevertheless, the basement actually contained three apartments. Just like in the instant matter, the detective had never been in the basement himself. The Mabrouk Court held that at the time the detective applied for the warrant he did not believe there was more than one apartment in the basement, despite the fact that he was aware that there were separate doors in the hallway of the basement. The court in Mabrouk held that there was no evidence in the record that the detective knew or should have known there was more than one apartment in the basement at the time of the warrant application and found that the warrant was not overbroad or invalid.