Opinion ID: 1877642
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: pretrial, trial, and sentence

Text: Merrill was charged by an amended information with three counts: (1) unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, to wit, marijuana, in violation of Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-416(1)(a) (Reissue 1995); (2) possession of marijuana more than 1 pound, in violation of § 28-416(12); and (3) possession of a controlled substance, to wit, methamphetamine, in violation of § 28-416(3). Merrill moved to suppress all the evidence gathered at the Merrill farm, arguing that the original visit to the Merrill farm ... was pretextual and without probable cause, thus violating [Merrill's] rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The district court overruled Merrill's motion to suppress, stating in the judge's minutes on the docket sheet that the police were in a place where they could lawfully be when they first spoke with Merrill in his driveway. However, the trial judge stated in his comments at the hearing on the motion to suppress that I know they were investigating marijuana and they can't pull my leg, that's the only reason they were out there. At trial, Leon B. Altman, a forensic drug chemist at the Nebraska State Patrol crime laboratory, testified that he conducted a chemical test on one of the spoons and the blue Ziploc bag and that both items tested positive for methamphetamine. Altman also testified that the plants he tested weighed approximately 2 pounds and tested positive for marijuana, as did the loose leafy substance found on the coffee table and the residue in the pipe seized out of Merrill's back pocket incident to his arrest. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all three counts, and the district court sentenced Merrill to concurrent sentences as follows: 4 to 5 years' imprisonment for the unlawful manufacture of marijuana, a Class III felony; 2 to 3 years' imprisonment for the possession of marijuana more than 1 pound, a Class IV felony; and 4 to 5 years' imprisonment for the possession of methamphetamine, a Class IV felony. Merrill appeals. We granted the State's petition to bypass the Nebraska Court of Appeals.