A C/I, who has provided many good cases in the past, informs his handler that a man on the corner is selling drugs from a pouch stuffed in his jeans: at what point can law enforcement perform a 'jump-out'?

The investigator asserts that if he seeks a search warrant two things will happen: first, the dealer will finish selling all the crack his pants can hold before they are able to return and serve the warrant; second, the dealer will be tipped off through the warrant affidavit that 'someone' talked to the authorities and the C/I will be burned.

The investigator wants to drive up and bust the dealer the mement they know he's holding more than just a few grams of crack. His theory is 'exigent circumstances.'

How would you advise the investigator?

Sounds like the investigator needs to start off by reading the Butt Crack Warrant thread.

Then he could read McGee v. State, 105 SW3d 609, the infamous warrantless search of a butt crack from Harris County.

Bottom line, as long as the search does not penetrate, if you know what I mean, and the officer follows the probable cause and privacy suggestions outlined in McGee, he can make a warrantless search of the suspect's butt area.

Thanks.

Unless I'm misreading Phillip's post, this is not about drugs stuffed up a butt crack.... this is about a pouch of crack cocaine hidden in a street dealer's pants.

If so then the identity of your informant may very well be compromised if she even near the scene of the arrest.

There is a detailed article on this topic in the May/June 2004 issue of The Texas Prosecutor.(TDCAA's official journal)

The name of the piece is "If you're gonna prosecute the devil, you've gotta go to hell to get the witnesses!"

Actually, I began by reading that article. Then the cases cited in the footnotes of the provided caselaw, I found the answers I was seeking.

While the buttcrack warrant thread was interesting, the McGee case provided some guidance as to what should be sought on the 'jump-out'.