State v. Rogers, 297 Neb. 265

On Aug. 5, 2015, Lincoln police located a parked vehicle near a car associated with a wanted federal suspect; the vehicle contained three occupants, including Rogers in the back seat.
The lead officer approached a second car; she observed the front-seat passenger reach under his seat and recognized the driver as a known narcotics contact.
Officers ordered all three occupants to exit; the front-seat passenger was arrested on a warrant; after Rogers exited, an officer saw a small plastic bag protruding from a purse on the rear floorboard.
Officers requested consent to search the vehicle (denied), summoned a drug dog, the dog alerted on the driver’s side, and a subsequent search of the purse recovered a pipe that tested positive for amphetamine; Rogers was arrested and charged with possession.
Rogers moved to suppress the vehicle stop and search; the district court denied the motion, a jury convicted her, and she was sentenced to 20 months to 5 years’ imprisonment. She appealed, challenging suppression and sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether officers’ direction to exit the vehicle constituted a seizure requiring reasonable suspicion	Rogers: directing passengers out after determining the wanted person was not present became a seizure unsupported by reasonable suspicion	State: the encounter escalated from tier-one to tier-two when occupants were ordered out; officers had articulable facts to support reasonable suspicion	Court: ordering occupants out was a seizure; however, reasonable suspicion existed based on furtive movements, driver’s narcotics contacts, and sighting of a bag in the purse, so detention was lawful
Whether the sentence (20 months–5 years) was excessive	Rogers: sentencing court failed to meaningfully consider statutory factors and justify a near-maximum sentence	State: sentence was within statutory limits and sentencing court considered appropriate factors; wide discretion applies	Court: sentence within statutory limits and not an abuse of discretion; affirmed

State v. Milos, 294 Neb. 375 (discussing tiered police-citizen encounters and standard of review for suppression)
State v. Tyler, 291 Neb. 920 (procedural guidance for assessing seizures and suppression)
State v. Loding, 296 Neb. 670 (sentencing review and abuse-of-discretion standard)
State v. Van Ackeren, 242 Neb. 479 (early articulation of police-citizen encounter tiers)
State v. Hedgcock, 277 Neb. 805 (when a request to exit a vehicle becomes a seizure under the Fourth Amendment)
State v. Voichahoske, 271 Neb. 64 (furtive movement under a seat contributes to reasonable suspicion)
Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (officer stops and Fourth Amendment principles)
State v. Draper, 295 Neb. 88 (sentencing discretion and factors to consider)
State v. Custer, 292 Neb. 88 (sentencing review principles)