State v. Santiago

Certiorari Granted, No. 30,953, March 19, 2008 OPINION {1} The State appeals the district court's order granting Defendant's motion to suppress. Defendant was searched outside of a shopping mall by private mall security guards after he was maced, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed, because he had a verbal confrontation with a peer within the mall. As a result of the search, the mall security guards discovered a pill bottle in Defendant's pants pocket containing cocaine. The district court concluded that the search and seizure conducted by the mall security guards is governed by the Fourth Amendment. Further, the district court concluded the search and seizure to be unreasonable under Fourth Amendment standards, and it ordered that the physical evidence be suppressed, as well as all other evidence discovered as a result of the search and seizure under the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY