State v. Hidalgo, 296 Neb. 912

Crime Stoppers tip reported a Hispanic male “Roberto/Sporty” (30–35) who was a member of the 18th Street gang and possessed illegal firearms; tip gave a specific Omaha address.
Officers surveilled the address, observed several tattooed Hispanic men on the porch, and noted a white Nissan Sentra registered to Robert Hidalgo and Jacqueline Linares; utilities listed Linares at the address.
Officers’ records identified Robert (born May 1987) as a known 18th Street gang member with the nickname “Shorty.”
A trash pull from the residence produced a piece of mail for the address and marijuana stems/seeds/leaves.
Based on the tip and investigation, officers obtained and executed a search warrant for the residence; they found marijuana and firearms inside, a firearm in a neighboring yard, and a firearm in the Sentra. Hidalgo later admitted the gun in the car was his.
Hidalgo (a felon) was convicted after a stipulated bench trial for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person; he appealed arguing the warrant lacked probable cause and the vehicle search exceeded the warrant.

Issue	Hidalgo's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Probable cause for search warrant	Anonymous tip was unreliable; corroboration only showed "innocent details"; trash marijuana alone insufficient	Independent police corroboration (names, vehicle registration, gang affiliation, on-site observations, trash pull) plus tip provided a fair probability of weapons/narcotics	Warrant supported by totality of circumstances; probable cause existed; suppression denied
Validity/scope of vehicle search	Warrant described house but not vehicle; searching the Sentra violated Fourth Amendment	Vehicle was on property described in warrant, near house, no barrier; affidavit anticipated weapons may be in vehicles on site	Search of vehicle was within scope of warrant; evidence admissible

State v. Hill, 288 Neb. 767 (Neb. 2014) (totality-of-circumstances test and standards for reviewing search-warrant affidavits)
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. 1983) (Gates "totality of the circumstances" approach to informant tips)
State v. Vermuele, 234 Neb. 973 (Neb. 1990) (no requirement that the crime alleged be independently corroborated to justify probable cause)
U.S. v. Pennington, 287 F.3d 739 (8th Cir. 2002) (vehicle on premises may be searched under a warrant describing the premises when connection to vehicle is shown)
U.S. v. Briscoe, 317 F.3d 906 (8th Cir. 2003) (possession of marijuana may support probable cause depending on context)