Defense challenges stop that yielded 10 lbs meth
Lawyer says deputy followed car into Iowa on a speeding violation and did not have jurisdiction to conduct a narcotics investigation
By News Channel Nebraska
NEBRASKA CITY – A federal judge is being asked to suppress evidence in a case where an Otoe County sheriff’s deputy found four pounds of marijuana and 10 pounds of methamphetamine in a traffic stop that extended into Iowa.
A defense attorney for 45-year-old Teresa Martinez, who was arrested with her 21-year-old daughter, Daisy Flores, says the Otoe County sheriff’s deputy exhausted all measures regarding the speeding violation and exceeded his territorial jurisdiction by conducting a narcotics investigation in Iowa.
The defense attorney says once the deputy told the California woman that she would receive a warning for speeding, he should have told her she was free to leave his patrol car. Instead, he said, stay put, while he went to ask for consent from the passenger.
The attorney said telling Martinez to stay put and then trying to get another occupant of the vehicle to consent to a search indicates the coercive atmosphere of the traffic stop.