On Tuesday March 10, San Jose police, Santa Clara police, Santa Clara Sherriff's deputies and the FBI conducted an aggressive and dramatic raid on nearly a dozen restaurants and cafes that are suspected of hosting illegal gambling activities in East San Jose, according to a San Jose Mercury report. Law enforcement officials took more than 100 gambling machines into possession and several employees and business owners were detained before being released. No one was arrested as a direct result of the raid but arrests are sure to follow.
Raids that involve so many businesses and multiple law enforcement agencies are extremely complex and take a massive logistical effort by police. If the justification used to seize the machines and detain patrons and employees was lacking, the raid's possible success may be short lived. If the rights of any of the suspects were violated, the evidence gathered by police may not be admissible in court. Information gathered from seized computers and from questioned suspects may lead nowhere if it was not properly obtained. Criminal defense attorneys may analyze all the information related to the raid and determine if the police violated anyone's rights. If there were rights violations, the best efforts of the law enforcement officials may not be rewarded.