searched in the detainee’s presence, where possible. Once she quickly found the gun, she moved the backpack to a separate area, as required by APD protocol — that the search be moved out of the detainee’s presence if a weapon were recovered.
Once Wasser moved the backpack to a hallway area, she continued to sift through it, placing personal items back into the backpack, and putting other evidentiary items in manila envelopes, including items found at the McDonald’s, such as the gun magazine, the cellphone, and the knife, as well as items found at the station, including a silencer, the USB drive, and the red notebook. This was also consistent with APD protocol, that personal items be separated from evidence or contraband. All the items were then moved to Featherstone’s office so there would be more room to complete the inventory.
This initial inventory sufficiently complied with Altoona procedure to be a valid inventory search. See People v. Craddock, 235 AD3d 1105, 1109 (3d Dep’t 2025). Nor does the effort to separate evidence from personal property render the search unlawful. See People v. McCray, 195 AD3d 555, 557 (1st Dep’t 2021) (that one of the requirements of the inventory search was to “remove any contraband” did not render the inventory search invalid). While Wasser did not prepare a written list of the items, APD policies did not require documentation to be simultaneous with the search, and all the items were documented once they were moved to Featherstone’s office and the larger area of the roll-call room. Minor deviations from procedure will not invalidate an inventory search, Keita, 162 AD3d at 610, and courts have upheld inventory searches where there was a delay in documentation. See Douglas, 40 NY3d at 389 (11- hour delay in preparing list): People v. Echevarria, 173 AD3d 638, 639 (1st Dep’t 2019).
Once the items were moved to Featherstone’s office, and then the roll-call room, all items were meticulously documented. Featherstone, Heuston, and eventually Burns, placed each item in an envelope, labeled each envelope, and kept written lists of the items. Heuston and Featherstone also photographed each item, including each loose piece of paper and each page the notebook.
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Thus, it is clear that that the Altoona Police Department had an established inventory search protocol, that the protocol was followed, and that the search produced the “hallmark of an inventory search: a meaningful inventory list.” Johnson, 1 NY3d at 256. And as noted above, any
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