Font ResizeWest Valley City police didn't need a warrant to search a storage unit rented under a stolen identity, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
In a unanimous decision, the court agreed with U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball in Salt Lake City that the search was legal. Officers went into the unit with the permission of the victim whose identity was used to rent the space.
Eric Dustin Johnson was pulled over by West Valley City police in March 2007 for a traffic violation. Police discovered through a computer check that he had two outstanding felony warrants, according to court documents. Johnson's girlfriend was in the car and also had a warrant out for her arrest.
Police say a search turned up drug paraphernalia in the car's console and the identification in the girlfriend's purse used her picture but with the name of another woman. Also in the purse was a rental agreement for a storage unit under the other woman's name.
That woman had reported several weeks earlier that her husband's car was burglarized and her purse stolen from it. Court documents say she gave permission for officers to enter the storage space, where they discovered a Savage .22 caliber rifle and a Bronco 410 shotgun.
Johnson, who allegedly admitted asking his girlfriend to rent the unit, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms but reserved his right to appeal. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
In its ruling,
