State v. Vest, 252 P.3d 772

Defendant Shane Vest appeals a conviction under a conditional plea for distribution of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, challenging the district court’s denial of his suppression motion.
The search warrant targeted Vest’s residence in a green-and-white camping trailer at Arrowhead RV Park and relied on a supporting affidavit.
The affidavit alleged that a Region V Drug Task Force confidential informant observed a large quantity of marijuana at Vest’s residence, packaged in clear bags and valued at 1/4 to 1/2 pound.
The informant’s credibility was asserted because he had conducted at least two supervised controlled purchases of controlled substances and was familiar with marijuana.
The district court denied suppression, finding reliability based on the officer’s observations, the informant’s status, the informant’s past illicit activity, the informant’s relationship with Vest, and the two controlled buys.
The court of appeals reverses, concluding the affidavit did not sufficiently establish the informant’s veracity or adequate corroboration to support probable cause.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the informant’s veracity was sufficiently established	Vest argues the informant’s credibility is not shown	Vest contends lack of veracity invalidates probable cause	Not sufficiently established; warrant invalid
Whether the officer’s corroboration of the informant’s tips was adequate	State argues corroboration supports reliability	Vest contends observations were stale and insufficient	Insufficient corroboration; not timely or adequate to support probable cause
Whether the totality of the affidavit provides a substantial basis for probable cause	State asserts facts show probable cause	Vest asserts the affidavit is hypertechnical and lacking veracity	Insufficient basis; probable cause not shown

Cordova v. State, 109 N.M. 211 (N.M. Supreme Court 1989) (confidential informant reliability necessary for probable-cause determination)
Montoya v. State, 114 N.M. 221 (N.M. Court of Appeals 1992) (informant reliability shown by past truthful information in general terms)
Barker v. State, 114 N.M. 589 (N.M. Court of Appeals 1992) (informant reliability requires nexus between penal-interest statements and crime)
In re Shon Daniel K., 1998-NMCA-069 (N.M. Court of Appeals 1998) (reliability factors for informants include past reliable information and corroboration)
Cordova v. State, 109 N.M. 211 (N.M. Supreme Court 1989) (informant reliability and basis of knowledge required)
Nyce v. State, 139 N.M. 647 (N.M. Supreme Court 2006) (probable-cause standard: reasonable probability evidence will be found; Fourth Amendment)
Evans v. State, 146 N.M. 319 (N.M. Supreme Court 2009) (probable cause must be based on substantial basis in affidavit)
Williamson v. State, 146 N.M. 488 (N.M. Supreme Court 2009) (substantial-basis standard for probable cause; defer to magistrate)
Whitley v. State, 128 N.M. 403 (N.M. Court of Appeals 1999) (information must show crime evidence and location)