By Tribune-Review

Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2012, 3:36 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The state Superior Court on Wednesday reversed the sentence of a Homestead man because police did not have a good reason or a warrant when they kicked in his front door and found drugs and weapons inside.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kathleen A. Durkin sentenced Terrance Lamont Waddell, 29, to five to 10 years in prison and five years probation for drug and firearm offenses.

Police discovered 10 pounds of marijuana and several firearms when they entered his house on April 3, 2010.

Superior Court Judge John T. Bender wrote in the opinion that Homestead police Chief Jeffrey DeSimone “lacked any specific evidence that anyone inside the home was armed” when he entered the residence without a warrant and Waddell “did not present a situation where a warrantless entry was necessary to prevent or stop an immediate threat of violence.”

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