State v. Hidalgo
296 Neb. 912
| Neb. | 2017Background
- Omaha police received an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip that a Hispanic male “Roberto” (nicknamed “Sporty”), an 18th Street gang member in his early 30s, lived at a specific Omaha address and possessed illegal firearms.
- Officers surveilled the address, observed several tattooed Hispanic males on the porch who appeared alarmed, and noted a white Nissan Sentra registered to Robert Hidalgo and Jacqueline Linares in the driveway.
- A trash pull from the residence produced mail to that address and marijuana stems, seeds, and leaves.
- Police identified Robert Hidalgo (born 1987) as a known 18th Street gang member with the nickname “Shorty,” and obtained a warrant describing the residence and seeking marijuana, records, weapons, and ammunition.
- Execution of the warrant produced firearms in the house, a firearm in the driveway vehicle (a Sentra) that Hidalgo later admitted owning, and another firearm in a neighboring yard; Hidalgo was convicted after a stipulated bench trial of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probable cause for search warrant | Warrant lacked probable cause because tip reliability wasn’t established; corroboration only confirmed innocent details; trash pull marijuana insufficient | Tip corroboration (name, vehicle registration, residents, gang membership, observed persons) plus trash marijuana provided a fair probability of contraband | Affidavit supplied sufficient probable cause under totality of circumstances; corroboration and trash evidence supported the warrant |
| Reliability of anonymous informant | Informant unreliable; officers failed to corroborate claim that Hidalgo possessed firearms | Officers’ independent investigation corroborated numerous tip details (name similarity, vehicle registration, gang membership, demographics, trash pull) | Officer investigation sufficiently established informant reliability under Gates totality analysis |
| Sufficiency of marijuana in trash | Small marijuana remnants cannot show ongoing narcotics operation or likely presence of larger contraband | Marijuana, while not dispositive alone, contributed to probable cause when combined with corroborated tip | Marijuana evidence plus corroboration was enough; court need not reach good-faith exception |
| Search of vehicle parked at residence | Vehicle not specifically listed in warrant; searching it exceeded scope | Vehicle was parked in driveway adjacent to described residence, no barriers, affidavit anticipated vehicles on premises storing weapons | Vehicle search was within the scope of the warrant; officers validly searched the Sentra |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Hill, 288 Neb. 767 (2014) (standards for reviewing probable cause and suppression rulings)
- 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 (1990) (no requirement that the crime itself be fully corroborated to support probable cause)
- State v. Lytle, 255 Neb. 738 (1998) (officer investigation can establish informant reliability for warrant affidavits)
- U.S. v. Pennington, 287 F.3d 739 (8th Cir. 2002) (vehicles on premises described in a warrant may be searched when affidavit links defendant to the vehicle)