NEBRASKA CITY - An Otoe County judge has sided with the prosecution in a methamphetamine chain of evidence case despite an indictment against a former Nebraska State Patrol evidence technician.

District Judge Julie Smith said it is enough that the evidence remained in the custody of law enforcement in her ruling Monday.

Defense Attorney Keith Kollasch said his client has an absolute right to cross examine the witnesses against him, but he does not expect accused evidence technician Anna Idigima to be available for trial in January.

Idigima, 36, is accused of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.

Kollasch said over 100 pounds of evidence is missing.

Court documents say witnesses told investigators that Idigima’s boyfriend, 36-year-old George Weaver Jr., provided substances that were a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl.

 

Kollasch noted that the weight of the meth listed by the state trooper who put it in the evidence bag and the weight obtained by the crime lab did not match by a tenth of a gram. He said while the evidence bags are tamper resistant, the court did not receive evidence that they are tamper proof.

Judge Smith said the state does have the obligation of establishing a complete chain of possession for evidence to be admitted, but said proof that it remained in law enforcement’s possession is sufficient.

She said the evidence bag was sealed and remained sealed until it was tested.

Smith: “It is not likely any intermeddler tampered with it.”

State Patrol Lt. Kaleb Bruggeman testified that Idigima is accused of removing drug evidence from the facility, not tampering with it. He said he had never seen evidence of torn evidence bags until the August with Lincoln police began investigating Idigima. He said the investigation showed evidence missing dating back to June, but the evidence in the Otoe County case was tested in March.

Kollasch said there is no telling what the 14-year-employee was doing prior to June. He said having an officer say the contents of an evidence bag looks the same is not enough for admissibility.

Otoe County Attorney Jennifer Panko Rahe said the evidence is admissible. She said the officer who put it in  the bag said Monday it looks the same. Tiffanie Leffler of the state crime lab and forensic scientist  Jerry Smith testified on behalf of the state.

The case involves Tony Osborne, 56, who was one of three arrested after a state patrol traffic stop. The state patrol says Osborne had possession of 24 grams of meth.

After the judge’s ruling, Osborne waived his right to a jury trial and will be tried by the judge in January.