The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order granting defendant’s motion to suppress evidence. The panel held that where, as here, law enforcement officers are asked to assist in the execution of an administrative warrant authorizing the inspection of a private residence, they violate the Fourth Amendment when their “primary purpose” in executing the warrant is to gather evidence in support of a criminal investigation rather than to assist the inspectors. The panel need not address the defendant’s argument that the warrant itself was invalid under state law nor whether LASD exceeded the scope of the warrant. The panel only held that the LASD’s execution was unreasonable and thus the district court properly granted the defendant’s motion to suppress.
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