United States of America v. Richard Walker

East St. Louis, Illinois criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with felony possession of a firearm.



Officers arrested Richard Walker at the front door of the residence of his girlfriend, Ramona Pau-

lette, where he was staying overnight. Paulette lived with her mother, Laverne Shipp; and with her and Walker's son,

Walker Jr. After arresting Walker, officers performed a protective sweep of the residence, discovering and seizing a loaded firearm beneath the mattress in Walker Jr.'s bedroom. Paulet and Shipp later arrived home, and officers informed them of the firearm. Officers then sought and received consent from Shipp to conduct a second search of her home. During the second search, officers found drugs near a pile of men's clothing in Paulette's bedroom.



A federal grand jury indicted Walker with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C.

§ 922(g)(1) and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). Walker moved to suppress all evidence found at the Shipp residence, arguing the officers' search violated the Fourth Amendment. The district court denied the motion, finding the sweep and the search were justified. Walker then entered a conditional plea of guilty to both counts of the indictment, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his suppression motion.



Walker argued that the firearm and drugs were discovered pursuant to an unconstitutional search for two

reasons: the protective sweep of the residence was unlawful, and Shipp's consent was not sufficiently attenuated from the

illegal sweep.

Guilty based on a conditional plea.



Reversed.