United States v. Starnes, No. 13-1148 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this Case
After receiving complaints of drug trafficking, police arranged an undercover controlled purchase of crack cocaine from a lower level apartment in Rockford. Days later, they obtained a warrant to search the “lower apartment.” The police knew that hours earlier, a shooting occurred at the residence and that aggressive pit bulls lived on the premises. After knocking and receiving no response, investigators forced their way into a foyer with two open doors: one led to the first floor apartment, the other led to ascending stairs. A dog ran from officers and up a few steps, before turning and charging the officer, who shot and killed the dog and proceeded up the stairs to perform a protective sweep. As he ran through the upper kitchen, he saw large chunks of an off-white substance on the counter with scales. In the bedroom he discovered Starnes. The officer detained and escorted him downstairs. While other officers were seeking a warrant for the upper apartment, other detectives searched the lower apartment and seized semi-automatic rifles, ammunition magazines, a loaded hand gun, and drug paraphernalia. After executing a warrant on the second floor, they seized Starnes’ photo identification cards, 290 grams of cocaine, 72.5 grams of cocaine base, $36,186 in cash, and more drug paraphernalia. The court declined to suppress evidence from the second floor; Starnes entered a conditional plea to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), possessing a firearm as a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A). The Seventh Circuit affirmed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.