St. Charles brothers accused of growing, possessing pot challenge police search
Two brothers accused of growing and selling marijuana are arguing police entered their St. Charles home in 2015 to question them and improperly used observations during a “protective sweep” to obtain a search warrant executed the next day.
Joseph and Derek Sutcliffe, both of the 6N0-99 block of Denker Road, are free on bond after their December arrest by agents of the North Central Narcotics Task Force, a unit of the state police, who had a tip of an indoor marijuana “grow.”
Kathleen Colton, the brothers' defense attorney, wants evidence from the Dec. 8 search banned from court.
She argues in court motion the search warrant was “impermissibly tainted by a prior illegal entry by the police on Dec. 7, 2015.”
Joseph Sutcliffe, 27, testified Wednesday that police came to a home he rented with his brother and a female roommate to investigate a possible “grow” operation at the night of Dec. 7.
The female roommate answered the door for police and let them into the foyer because it was cold, but the officers followed her through the home when she went to find Joseph Sutcliffe, according to testimony.
Joseph Sutcliffe admitted to police he had about an ounce of marijuana in his room but denied he was growing any.
Soon, Derek Sutcliffe, 31, came home from work, and he denied police permission to search the home after calling his lawyer.
Police said they would get a warrant and the three were not allowed to stay in the house until it had been searched, Joseph Sutcliffe testified.
Two of the three officers then conducted a “protective sweep” of the home to ensure no one else was there. During the search, officers looked through closets and bedrooms and cited their observations, such as seeing a duffel bag in a closet with suspected marijuana in it, in a sworn affidavit used to obtain the warrant, Colton argues in court records.
Colton contends the search before actual search warrant “fatally tainted” any evidence.
Derek Sutcliffe is charged with manufacture/possession of 500 to 2,000 grams of marijuana, growing 20 to 50 marijuana plants, and possession of a controlled substance, all felonies. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
Joseph Sutcliffe is charged with manufacture/delivery of 30 to 500 grams of marijuana, a felony that carries a top punishment of five years in prison if found guilty.
The case is next due in court on July 5, when prosecutors are expected to call law enforcement witnesses and Derek Sutcliffe also will testify.