HOME SWEET HOME: BIRTHDAY BASHES AND A NEW HYPOTHETICAL

It's late on a Friday night. Officers get a call to respond to a house in a rural part of the county with reported shots fired and upon arrival, the officers hear numerous shots going off from inside of the house. Upon entry to the house, officers discover that it's just a typical, traditional birthday celebration for one of the family members who just turned 18 years old. Since they're shooting up their own property, officers clear the call because there's no law against maliciously destroying your own property.

An hour later a call comes through 911 requesting an ambulance because a baby in a crib upstairs has been struck by gunfire during the drunken celebration. EMS personnel arrive and rush the child to the hospital, where the baby is immediately pronounced dead.

The same officers respond back, thoroughly irritated at this point about not taking action earlier and perhaps saving a child's life. EMS personnel have cleared the scene to transport the child to the hospital. The officers seize the weapons for their safety, and then say the hell with it and rip apart the entire house where they locate marijuana, cocaine, an automatic weapon and several other shotguns and handguns, all located in a hidden area within the attic. The officers take everyone into custody at that point and charge all with every imaginable offense.

Homicide detectives arrive a short time later after all of these actions have already been taken. What should the detectives do at this point? Are the items already seized admissible against one and/or all of the persons in the house? What about any statements taken while the responding officers are in the house? If the gunshot wound that killed the child was inflicted unintentionally during the "fireworks" birthday celebration, is the shooter guilty of any crime?

Answer to come over the weekend.