State v. Hidalgo, 296 Neb. 912

Crime Stoppers tip alerted police that a Hispanic male nicknamed "Sporty/Roberto," an 18th Street gang member in his early 30s, lived at a specified Omaha address and possessed illegal firearms.
Officers surveilled the address, observed tattooed Hispanic males on the porch, and noted a white Nissan Sentra registered to Robert Hidalgo and Jacqueline Linares at the driveway.
A trash pull from the residence yielded a mail piece to the address and marijuana stems/seeds/leaves.
Police identified Hidalgo (born May 1987) as a known 18th Street gang member with a nickname similar to the tipster’s; they obtained and executed a search warrant for the residence seeking marijuana, weapons, money, and records.
Searches recovered firearms in the house, in a neighboring yard, and in the Sentra; Hidalgo later admitted the firearm from the car was his. Hidalgo, a felon (prior conviction as accessory to a felony), was convicted after a stipulated bench trial of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and sentenced to 3–5 years.

Issue	Hidalgo's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether affidavit established probable cause for warrant	Tip was anonymous and uncorroborated; corroborated details were innocent; trash marijuana insufficient	Independent corroboration (names, registration, gang membership, porch observations, trash pull) and tip together created fair probability of contraband/evidence	Probable cause existed; warrant valid
Whether officers sufficiently established informant reliability/basis of knowledge	Informant reliability not shown; officers failed to corroborate criminal assertions (guns)	Officers’ independent investigation corroborated key details and thus supported informant reliability under totality of circumstances	Court found reliability and basis of knowledge adequate under the totality-of-the-circumstances test
Whether marijuana in trash alone supported probable cause	Small amount shows only past use, not ongoing operation	Marijuana plus tip and other corroboration constituted sufficient evidence	Marijuana evidence, together with other corroboration, supported probable cause
Whether vehicle parked at the residence could be searched under the warrant	Warrant described the house but not the vehicle, so car search exceeded scope	Vehicle was on premises described by warrant, near the house, and affidavit contemplated weapons in vehicles used in narcotics operations	Vehicle search upheld as within the scope of the warrant

State v. Hill, 288 Neb. 767 (discussing probable cause and review standard)
Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983) (totality-of-the-circumstances test for informant tips and probable cause)
State v. Vermuele, 234 Neb. 973 (no requirement that the crime itself be fully corroborated)
State v. Lytle, 255 Neb. 738 (use of officer investigation to establish informant reliability)
U.S. v. Pennington, 287 F.3d 739 (8th Cir.) (vehicle on premises may be searched under warrant when affidavit links defendant to vehicle)
U.S. v. Briscoe, 317 F.3d 906 (8th Cir.) (recognizing that possession of marijuana is illegal and may be considered in probable cause analysis)