State v. Guthmiller

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed Dennis Guthmiller’s convictions for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. The court held that the search warrants for Guthmiller’s vehicle and residence were supported by probable cause under the totality-of-the-circumstances test.

Holdings

1. The search warrant for Guthmiller’s vehicle was supported by probable cause because the magistrate could reasonably infer from the informant’s information, the controlled purchases, Guthmiller’s presence, and the vehicle’s presence during the transactions that evidence of methamphetamine trafficking would be found in the vehicle.
2. The search warrant for Guthmiller’s residence was supported by probable cause. Although the 1998 information concerning suspected marijuana cultivation was stale standing alone, the contemporaneous evidence of Guthmiller’s vehicle making short late-night trips from the residence and the discovery of methamphetamine in the vehicle established a sufficient nexus between the residence and evidence of methamphetamine trafficking.

Questions Presented

1. Whether probable cause supported the search warrant for Guthmiller’s vehicle.
2. Whether probable cause supported the search warrant for Guthmiller’s residence, including whether the information was stale and whether the evidence established a nexus between the residence and the suspected drug-trafficking evidence.

Disposition

affirmed