Judges rule Boardman heroin evidence came from valid search warrant

YOUNGSTOWN

The failure of Boardman police to say “search warrant” before they broke down an apartment door doesn’t justify a trial judge’s decision to exclude heroin and other items they seized from evidence, a three-judge panel of the 7th District Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled.

Even though the prosecution conceded that police violated the state’s knock and announce law, the appeals court ruled Wednesday that Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court should not have excluded from evidence the items police seized because police had a valid search warrant for the Applecrest Court apartment they entered.

The appeals court sent the cases of Sherri A. Bembry, 31, who was charged with permitting drug abuse, and Harsimran Singh, 28, who was charged with heroin possession and trafficking and receiving stolen property, back to Judge Durkin for further proceedings.

Police had arrested Bembry and Singh when they executed the search warrant and made the seizures on Nov. 2, 2012.