State v. Elias, 314 Neb. 494

On Sept. 29, 2019, 15-year-old Ali Alburkat was killed in a drive-by shooting near the Links apartment complex in Lincoln; surveillance showed a silver/gray Ford Explorer fleeing the scene.
Police identified an Explorer registered to Majdal K. Elias and, shortly after, conducted controlled narcotics buys that led to search warrants of Elias’ residence and related properties, yielding narcotics, cash, and multiple firearms.
Law enforcement obtained a court order under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d) and the Nebraska equivalent for a cell‑tower “tower dump” covering the tower nearest the shooting for a 30‑minute window; the tower‑dump data placed Elias’ phone near the scene and matched surveillance evidence.
Elias was charged with second‑degree murder, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and two counts of using a weapon to commit a felony; he was convicted by a jury and sentenced to consecutive lengthy prison terms.
Pretrial, Elias moved (1) under Neb. Evid. R. 404 to exclude evidence of prior robbery victimization, drug dealing, and weapons possession, and (2) to suppress the tower‑dump data; the district court denied both motions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of other‑acts evidence under Neb. Evid. R. 404	State: evidence of burglary, drug dealing, and gun ownership shows motive (fear of robbery) and is admissible for that purpose	Elias: testimony about post‑murder drug deals, past burglary, and guns is impermissible character evidence and unduly prejudicial	Court: Overruled. Elias waived objections by failing to renew a continuing objection; even if preserved, the court found clear‑and‑convincing proof and relevance to motive—admission not an abuse of discretion
Whether tower‑dump data was a Fourth Amendment search and subject to suppression	State: limited, place‑and‑time‑specific tower dump is akin to conventional surveillance and not the Carpenter long‑term CSLI; alternatively, law enforcement relied in good faith on a court order	Elias: tower dump is CSLI and a search under Carpenter requiring a warrant; data should be suppressed	Court: Denied suppression. On these facts (single, 30‑minute, place‑limited dump) no Fourth Amendment search; alternatively, good‑faith reliance on the §2703(d)/state order warranted admission

Carpenter v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 2206 (2018) (SCOTUS: long‑term CSLI implicates reasonable expectation of privacy; left open tower‑dump and real‑time CSLI questions)
Herring v. United States, 555 U.S. 135 (2009) (good‑faith exception to exclusionary rule limits suppression when police conduct is not sufficiently deliberate or culpable)
State v. Brown, 302 Neb. 53 (2019) (applied good‑faith rationale to pre‑Carpenter CSLI orders)
State v. Short, 310 Neb. 81 (2021) (framework for assessing good‑faith reliance on warrants/orders and the substantial‑basis test)
State v. Castillas, 285 Neb. 174 (2013) (continuing objection/waiver under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25‑1141)
State v. Lee, 304 Neb. 252 (2019) (standard of review for admissibility of other crimes evidence and inextricably intertwined doctrine)