If a Minnesota resident answers a knock at the door and police are outside requesting to enter the home, does the resident have to comply with the request? The answer is complex because it would depend on various issues that may or may not pertain to a specific set of circumstances. In most cases, police may not enter a home without a valid search warrant; however, there are exceptions to the rule, and issues like these are often a central focus of criminal defense.
Police do not typically need a warrant to enter and search a home if they believe a crime is actively taking place inside the home in question. In a recent case, no information was provided as to whether investigators showed a warrant or whether the residents inside a particular home allowed them to enter. A search was conducted at a specific residence, however, which resulted in two people being arrested on suspicion of drug crimes.
Police took a 61-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man into custody. Officers claim to have seized a large amount of methamphetamine from the premises. They also say they confiscated ammunition and drug paraphernalia, as well. It is impossible to determine that a particular substance is methamphetamine without running lab tests on it. In order to present a substance as evidence in a criminal trial, prosecutors must be able to prove that a substance is, in fact, the drug they claim it to be.
In another Minnesota township, two other people have drug charges pending against them from a separate investigation. Like the case mentioned earlier, investigators in this case also accuse the defendants of distributing methamphetamine. Penalties under conviction for illegal drug distribution are often severe, which is why most people accused of drug crimes try to develop a strong criminal defense before heading to court.
