A-22-0909, State of Nebraska v. Alexis M. Murillo-Godoy (Appellant)
District Court for Dawson County, District Judge James E. Doyle
Attorney for Appellant: Brian William Copley (Heldt McKeone Law Firm)
Attorney for Appellee: Jordan Marie Osborne (Attorney General’s Office)
Criminal Action: Motion to Suppress, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, and Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver
Action taken by the Trial Court: A trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol stopped Murillo-Godoy for driving a car without a functioning taillight. During the traffic stop, the trooper determined that Murillo-Godoy’s driver’s license had expired, that the car’s plates were registered in California, and that the car had a salvage title. Murillo-Godoy told the trooper that he was driving from southern California and going to Atlanta. Murillo-Godoy did not communicate well in English, so he and the trooper communicated through a translation app on Murillo-Godoy’s phone, which translated his spoken Spanish into English and the trooper’s spoken English into Spanish. The trooper issued Murillo-Godoy a warning ticket for the taillight and asked Murillo-Godoy if they could speak further. Murillo-Godoy agreed. During their conversation, the trooper asked for permission to search the car, and Murillo-Godoy declined. While they waited for the K-9 Unit requested by the trooper to arrive, Murillo-Godoy told the trooper that the drug dog might “hit” on the car due to the presence of marijuana. When another trooper arrived with the drug dog, he was able to observe the marijuana in plain sight. The troopers then searched the car, locating several kilos of narcotics in addition to the marijuana.
After a bench trial on stipulated facts, the district court found Murillo-Godoy guilty of possession of a controlled substance (fentanyl) and was sentenced to 10 to 18 years in prison and was also ordered to forfeit the $2,000 in his possession at the time of his arrest.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: Did the district court err in overruling Murillo-Godoy’s motion to suppress evidence because law enforcement lacked reasonable suspicion to detain him? Did the court err in overruling his motion to suppress because law enforcement lacked probable cause to search the car? Did Murillo-Godoy receive ineffective assistance of trial counsel?