APPEALS COURT DECIDES POLICE ENTERED HOUSE UNANNOUNCED

Fort Smith police failed to announce their presence before entering a
residence and executing a search warrant when they confiscated packages of
crack cocaine, a 9mm handgun and several hundred dollars, the Arkansas
Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

The appeals court reversed the conviction of Phetaphay Syakhasone and
returned his case to Sebastian County Circuit Court.

The decision was issued in an appeal by Syakhasone in which he challenged a
trial court decision denying his motion to suppress evidence seized in a
search of his home on Feb. 17, 1998.

Syakhasone entered a conditional plea of no contest to a charge of
possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and was sentenced to 42 months
in prison and 138 months of suspended sentence.

Syakhasone contended that Fort Smith police failed to announce their
presence before entering to search.

The appeals court agreed that the officers failed to abide by the
knock-and-announce rule and that the circumstances didn't exist to justify
the officers' conduct.

Five officers approached the front of the residence with their guns drawn.
Four officers were dressed in black and wore raid jackets and vests with
the word "POLICE" on the front. One officer wore a police uniform.

According to testimony, as the police approached the house, one of them
noticed someone open a curtain, look in the direction of the officers and
pull the curtain back. Another officer yelled for the others to hurry
because he worried about their safety. The officers hurried into the
entrance and one of them announced, "Police," the testimony said.

The appeals court held that the record of the trial failed to show that the
officers were justified in the forceful entry.