Judge Naomi Buchwald
Based on a tip that he planned to rob a bank using a .44 magnum revolver kept in a Bronx storage locker, police arrested Smith as he was exiting his home with a gym bag containing a black t-shirt, three pairs of gloves and a key marked “888 storage.” Under a search warrant FBI agents retrieved a ski mask, brass knuckles, a police radio and a note stating “rob bank” from Smith’s apartment. A warranted search of his Bronx storage locker revealed five guns—including a .44 magnum revolver—ammunition, and ski masks. A Sept. 4, 2013, superseding indictment charged Smith with attempted bank robbery and possessing a firearm, specifically the revolver, after having been convicted of a felony. The court only partly granted Smith suppression. Discussing the inventory search exception to a search warrant’s requirement and the inevitable discovery doctrine, it found the items from Smith’s gym bag, storage locker and apartment did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Nor were the firearms, ammunition and ski masks found in the storage locker, and the “rob bank” note found in the apartment, precluded under Federal Rule of Evidence 403. Their probative value was not substantially outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice.
