In Re Interest of Jabreco G.

683 N.W.2d 386, 12 Neb. Ct. App. 667, 2004 Neb. App. LEXIS 179
CourtNebraska Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 20, 2004
DocketA-03-950, A-03-1171
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 683 N.W.2d 386 (In Re Interest of Jabreco G.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Interest of Jabreco G., 683 N.W.2d 386, 12 Neb. Ct. App. 667, 2004 Neb. App. LEXIS 179 (Neb. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

*670 Carlson, Judge.

INTRODUCTION

This case involves two appeals consolidated for our review, the appeal of an adjudication of Jabreco G. pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-247(1) (Cum. Supp. 2002) for possession of marijuana and an appeal from the subsequent dispositional order entered while the adjudication was pending appeal. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm the order adjudicating Jabreco and vacate the dispositional order.

BACKGROUND

In case No. A-03-950, a supplemental petition was filed in the Lancaster County Separate Juvenile Court on January 3, 2003, alleging that Jabreco, a child under 18 years of age, was a juvenile as defined by § 43-247(1) for the reason that on or about December 9, 2002, Jabreco knowingly or intentionally possessed marijuana weighing 1 ounce or less, in violation of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-416(13)(a) (Cum. Supp. 2002). On February 21, 2003, Jabreco filed a motion to suppress evidence alleging that evidence was obtained in violation of Jabreco’s constitutional rights, and the hearing on that motion was held on April 28. At the start of the hearing, Jabreco made an oral motion to suppress statements he made to a Lincoln Police Department school resource officer, Jerome Blowers. Both motions to suppress were taken up at the hearing. Two witnesses testified at the hearing: Sandra Myers, a detective sergeant with the Lincoln Police Department, and Blowers.

Myers testified that on December 9, 2002, at approximately 12:43 p.m., she was in the area of 30th and P Streets in Lincoln, looking for an individual named Courtney S. in regard to a shooting and robbery that had happened 2 months earlier. Myers had received information that Courtney had been in that area a few days earlier with an individual known as Jonathan H., who lives in the area. Myers drove her unmarked police car through an alley near Jonathan’s residence to see whether Courtney, or anyone else whom Myers knew to be associated with Courtney, was outside. Myers knew who Courtney and Jonathan were from prior contacts with them. As she drove down the alley, she saw four young, black, male individuals getting into a car. She recognized one of *671 the individuals as Jonathan, but she did not recognize the other three. She notified dispatch that she would be out of her police car, gave dispatch her location, and then exited her police car. As she approached the individuals’ car, three of the individuals were in the car and the fourth was just starting to get into the rear passenger side of the car. The rear passenger door was open at the time she approached. Myers stood by the passenger side of the car and asked the individuals for identification. While she did so, the individual who was not yet in the car remained outside the car, standing beside her at the rear passenger door. All four individuals told Myers that they did not have identification on them. When Myers asked the individual standing by the car what his name was, he replied “Jabreco,” and he then began running northbound.

Myers notified dispatch that one of the individuals she had contacted had taken off running, gave a description of him, and requested backup at her location. She told dispatch that she was remaining with the three other individuals. Myers testified that there was an odor of marijuana coming from either the car or the individuals and that she smelled marijuana both before and after Jabreco took off running. However, Myers could not recall at trial whether she relayed the information regarding the odor of marijuana at the time she called dispatch upon Jabreco’s taking off running or relayed that information at a later time.

Blowers testified that he works as a school resource officer for 10 elementary schools. On December 9, 2002, at approximately 12:43 p.m., he was working in uniform at one of his assigned schools when he heard a police radio broadcast stating that Myers would be contacting three or four black, male individuals in a car at a location which was three or four blocks south of the school he was at. Blowers then heard a second radio broadcast stating that one of the individuals Myers was attempting to contact had run from the car and was heading northbound. Blowers also heard a description of the individual who ran. Blowers went outside the school to see whether there was anyone coming into the area matching the description of that individual. He then saw an individual matching the description given by Myers walking northbound on a sidewalk. Blowers got into his police car and proceeded to drive up next to the individual. Blowers then said something to the individual to get his *672 attention, but he could not recall at trial what he had said. Blowers next parked his car, at which point the individual stopped walking, and got out and walked up to the individual, who was later identified as Jabreco. Standing about 5 feet away from Jabreco, Blowers noticed that Jabreco was breathing heavily and seemed short of breath and that the carotid artery in Jabreco’s neck was pulsating. Blowers introduced himself and asked Jabreco whether he needed medical attention, and Jabreco “mumbled or he said no.” Blowers then asked Jabreco whether he was out of breath because he had run from a police officer, to which query Jabreco responded in the affirmative. Blowers did not observe any weapons, drugs, or contraband. Blowers then asked Jabreco to walk over to Blowers’ police car. Jabreco complied with Blowers’ request, and as they were walking over to the car, Jabreco told Blowers that the reason he ran from the police officer was because “he was wanted out of Omaha.” Blowers asked Jabreco why he was wanted out of Omaha, and he replied that he was a runaway or a missing person.

After Jabreco said that he was a runaway or missing person, Blowers told Jabreco that he was going to place him in the back of his police car because he ran from Myers and because he indicated that he was wanted out of Omaha. Blowers then did a pat-down search of Jabreco’s exterior coat pockets and jeans pockets. Blowers testified that the purpose of the search was to check for weapons or contraband. However, Blowers testified that he did not see any weapons at any time during the stop and did not have any suspicion of weapons based on his observations of Jabreco.

When Blowers was patting Jabreco’s right front coat pocket, he felt “little bulky stuff’ that “felt a little hard, and then some of it was a little soft.” Blowers reached into the pocket and found a small plastic baggie containing marijuana. Blowers testified that prior to the pat-down search, when he and Jabreco were standing by the police car, he detected a strong marijuana smell coming from Jabreco. Blowers further testified that either prior to or at some point during his contact with Jabreco, Myers transmitted over the radio that there was possibly marijuana in the car that Jabreco had run from. Blowers could not recall when he had received this information.

*673 Following the search, Blowers placed Jabreco in the back of his police car.

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Bluebook (online)
683 N.W.2d 386, 12 Neb. Ct. App. 667, 2004 Neb. App. LEXIS 179, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-interest-of-jabreco-g-nebctapp-2004.