Was the gun seized in the automobile admissible against Smith as lawfully seized in plain view as the product of a proper inventory search?

Question

Lancaster, PA police officers recognized Devon Smith, in the passenger seat of an automobile operated by Danny Santiago, as subject to an outstanding arrest warrant. The officers stopped the vehicle, arrested Smith, and arrested Santiago after he got into fight with an officer. Neither Smith nor Santiago claimed to own the car or know the owner and registration papers were not available. There was no one else available at the scene to take possession of the car. The officers believed that they should not leave the vehicle in a bad neighborhood where it might be damaged, vandalized, or stolen. Therefore, one officer impounded the vehicle and drove it to the police station. At the station during a routine warrantless inventory search of the vehicle, the other officer found a loaded semi-automatic handgun in its glove department. He then interrupted the search, obtained a search warrant, and resumed the search. The gun was introduced in a trial against Smith who was convicted on a charge of a felon in possession of a weapon. Testimony established that the officer conducting the inventory was exercising his discretion when he opted to impound the vehicle. The Lancaster PD had no standardized policy regarding the impoundment of vehicles and had established routines but no written policies guiding the conduct of the inventory search.
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

YES