Commonwealth v. N.K.

Members of DEA Task Force 23 set up a long term narcotics surveillance operation in the Germantown section of the City. N.K. was allegedly part of an organization that was said to control the open air drug sales in the area, that was also responsible for numerous drug related shootings in the area. N.K. became a target of the surveillance operation, and over the course of several weeks agents allegedly observed N.K. meet several individuals outside of his residence and engage in drug transactions. On the last day of the surveillance police claimed N.K. left his residence and met with an individual in an alley around the corner from his house. That person was stopped and police recovered a large quantity of crack cocaine. Based on their weeks-long surveillance, police obtained a search warrant for the residence of N.K. During the execution of the warrant, police claimed to have recovered two firearms, ammunition, scales, crack cocaine, marijuana, hundreds of oxycodone pills, and over $23,000 in cash demo N.K.’s bedroom. The defense filed a motion to suppress evidence and claimed that the affidavit of probable cause for the search warrant failed to establish a “nexus” between the observed activities of N.K to the house that was searched, and that the information in the affidavit was “stale” by the time the warrant was executed. A judge in the Court of Common Pleas agreed and granted the defense motion. As a result, all evidence was suppressed and the Commonwealth was forced to withdraw all charges. N.K. was granted his release from prison immediately.