State v. Hidalgo, 296 Neb. 912

Omaha police received an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip that a Hispanic male "Roberto" (nicknamed "Sporty"), an active 18th Street gang member aged about 30–35, lived at a specified Omaha residence and possessed illegal firearms.
Officers surveilled the address, observed several tattooed Hispanic males on the porch, and noted a white Nissan Sentra registered to Robert Hidalgo and Jacqueline Linares at the driveway.
Records showed Linares as the utilities account holder; officers identified Robert Hidalgo (born May 1987) as a known 18th Street gang member with the nickname "Shorty."
A trash pull from the residence produced mail addressed to the location and marijuana stems, seeds, and leaves; officers obtained a search warrant for the residence seeking marijuana, weapons, money, and records related to narcotics operations.
Execution of the warrant recovered firearms in the house, a firearm in the neighboring yard, and a firearm from the Sentra; Hidalgo later admitted the firearm in the car was his. Hidalgo, a prior accessory-to-felony convict, was charged and convicted of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person following a stipulated bench trial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Probable cause for the warrant	State: affidavit, tip, corroboration, trash pull, and gang nexus established a fair probability of contraband/evidence	Hidalgo: anonymous tip unreliably proved; corroboration only of innocent details; trash marijuana insufficient; good-faith exception inapplicable	Court: affidavit provided probable cause under totality of circumstances; corroboration and trash evidence supported reliability of tip; warrant valid
Vehicle search scope	State: vehicles on described premises may be searched; affidavit connected vehicle to premises and suspect	Hidalgo: warrant described house only and did not list vehicle, so car search exceeded scope	Court: vehicle parked in driveway within curtilage and affidavit contemplated vehicles; search covered by warrant scope and was valid

State v. Hill, 288 Neb. 767, 851 N.W.2d 670 (Neb. 2014) (standard for reviewing probable-cause affidavits 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, 453 N.W.2d 441 (1990) (no requirement that the crime itself be independently corroborated to justify probable cause)
U.S. v. Briscoe, 317 F.3d 906 (8th Cir. 2003) (possession of marijuana can support probable cause)
U.S. v. Evans, 92 F.3d 540 (7th Cir. 1996) (vehicle in a garage/driveway may be searched as an interior container within premises described by a warrant)
U.S. v. Pennington, 287 F.3d 739 (8th Cir. 2002) (search of vehicle not explicitly listed may be covered where affidavit links defendant to vehicle)