The Denver-based court ruled that Jeremy Arrington's estranged wife lacked the authority to allow police to enter a hotel room where the weapon was found.
According to court records, Arrington met his wife on May 2, 2005, to discuss the possibility of reconciliation and they eventually checked into a West Valley City hotel. There, he allegedly held a gun to his head, threatening suicide.
According to court records, his wife left the hotel and Arrington requested that her name be taken off the guest registry. Later that day, Arrington was arrested by West Valley police on charges of domestic-violence stalking for allegedly trespassing at the home of a relative of his wife several days earlier.
An officer then went with the wife to the hotel, where a desk clerk at first refused to allow them into the room, but later relented. Two guns were found, one a sawed-off shotgun.
Arrington pleaded guilty to the possession charge but retained his right to appeal. He was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Dee Benson.
In overturning the conviction, the 10th Circuit said the wife did not have that authority to agree to a search because she did not have "mutual use" of the room - demonstrated by the fact that she spent only 20 minutes inside, did not have a key, did not leave any personal belongings there and did not plan to spend the night.
