A-23-0045, State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Lorenzo Hernandez Cisneros (Appellant)
District Court for Scotts Bluff County, Judge Leo Dobrovolny
Attorney for Appellant: Justin R. Huber (Scotts Bluff County Public Defender’s Office)
Attorney for Appellee: Teryn Blessin (Attorney General’s Office)
Criminal: Motion to Suppress; Sufficiency of Evidence; Excessive Sentence
Action taken by Trial Court: An officer with the Gering Police Department performed a traffic stop on Appellant for a defective headlight. The officer asked Appellant to talk with him in the police cruiser. Appellant did not communicate well in English so he and the officer communicated through a translation app on their phones. Using the translation app, the officer asked permission to search the vehicle. Appellant seemed to consent to the search and a search was conducted. Law enforcement found methamphetamine and a 9 mm handgun in the vehicle.
The district court overruled Appellant’s motion to suppress finding Appellant consented to the search and that a translation app is sufficient to obtain valid consent. After a jury trial, the district court convicted appellant on one count of possession of a controlled substance, one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, one count of failing to affix a drug tax stamp and one count of carrying a concealed weapon. Appellant was sentenced to 1 to 2 years’ imprisonment for the possession conviction, 20 to 20 years’ imprisonment for the possession with intent to distribute conviction, 1 to 2 years’ imprisonment for the drug tax stamp conviction, and 0 to 6 months’ imprisonment for the carrying a concealed weapon conviction. The court ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: On appeal to this court, Appellant assigns (1) the district court erred in determining valid consent can be obtained via a translation app; (2) the evidence at trial was insufficient to support a finding of guilt for the charges alleging possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, failure to affix a drug tax stamp and carrying a concealed weapon; and (3) the sentences imposed by the district court were excessive.