Traffic stops result in 3 marijuana seizures By Michelle Starr Staff writer The Nebraska State Patrol had a drug-filled weekend. Troopers seized 746 lbs. of marijua na along Interstate 80 and made four arrests in three different traffic stops, said Terri Teuber, press secretary of the Nebraska State Patrol. This weekend was not significant when compared with any other week end, Teuber said. Some weekends there are a lot of arrests, and others pass with out incident. She said die drug seizures show that the training the State Patrol receives is paying off. State Patrol Col. Tom Nesbitt agreed in a statement. “These stops migjht never have gone beyond traffic, violations if not for some very alert troopers,” he said. The first instance was at 10:37 p.m. on Friday when officers pulled over an eastbound vehicle with Illinois license plates. The vehicle was driving on the interstate’s shoulder 14 miles east of the Lexington interchange. A K-9 unit alerted officers to 374 lbs. of marijuana located in a closet and under a bed inside a recreational vehi cle. Two men, Daryl Grauman, 22, and Troy Martin, 23, both from Illinois were arrested for possession with the intent to deliver.The second instance involved a man trying to hide drugs in a false fuel tank on Saturday afternoon. Roy Padecky, 40, of Blue Island, 111., was pulled over for speeding eastbound on Interstate 80 near the Highway 77 interchange. A K-9 unit alerted officers to the phony tank filled with 72 lbs. of mari juana, Teuber said. Padecky was arrested for posses sion with the intent to deliver. In the third seizure troopers pulled someone over for speeding, but this time it was eastbound on Interstate 80 east of Lexington on Sunday. Inside a U-Haul, officers found 300 lbs. of marijuana packed inside boxes in the trunk. Edward Yunkers, 59, of Circle Pine, Minn., was arrested for possession with the intent to deliver, Teuber said. Teuber said the State Patrol has had single-stop incidents with the same amount of marijuana as all three offens es this weekend combined. “The scary thing is that even with nearly a thousand pounds of marijuana in one weekend, we still believe we are only scratching the surface when it comes to the amount of illegal drugs being transported along interstate 80,” Nesbitt said. Suspects nabbed in burglary After seeing two men carrying items out of a house, neighbors of a home at 911 Peach St. notified police at 10:50 a.m. on Monday of a possible burglary. The neighbors gave a description of the car that the suspects drove away in and its license plates. The car matched one stolen on Feb. 4, Lincoln Police Ofc. Katherine Finnell said. Police found the suspects in the stolen car near 11th and Washington streets, but the men saw the officers and attempted to drive away. The suspects drove down an alley, hit a car and ran away on foot. Police found items in the car stolen from the house valuing $965, including a television, videocassette recorder, two radios, a flashlight and compact discs. Finnell said six shotguns and two rifles stolen from the house are still missing. The suspects were described by police as two boys in their early teens wearing black leather jackets. No arrests have been made. I Police: Woman harassed on trail A 72-year-old woman out for a morning walk on the bike trail at 17th and Highway 2 was reportedly harassed by a man exposing himself, police said. Police received a call at 9:49 a.m. Monday of the indecent exposure, Finnell said. The woman was walking on the bike trail when a man began following her. She slowed down, and he went in front of her, Finnell said. She said he pulled down his pants and revealed his penis while grabbing it and mumbling something to the woman. The suspect was described as a man ir, his late teens wearing a black Nike suit. He was said to be between 5-foot 10 and 6 feet with a lean build and blond hair. After the incident, the man ran away, and the woman called the police. No arrests have been made yet, Finnell said. Compiled by staff writer Derek Lippincott Seizure ruled unlawful By Mkhefle Starr Staff uniter Tuesday’s Nebraska Supreme Court decision was the second in a month that ruled State Patrol troopers, despite find ing drugs during traffic stops, did not obtain the evidence lawfully. The court said officers need more grounds than a suspect’s nervous actions to search a vehicle for drugs during a traffic violation and that ner vousness should be treated with caution as a basis for search and seizure. Terri Teuber, press secretary for the State Patrol, said officers have to make quick decisions on the scene and have been successful at the search and seizure of drugs. But, the court also has the right to review officers’ actions during a drug seizure, she said. • On Tuesday, die Nebraska Court of Appeals ruled that a 1996 seizure of 28‘/a pounds of marijuana fourid in die trunk of a rental car driven by Robert McGinnis of Seattle was seized unlaw fully. t McGinnis’ car was stopped April 12,1996, for following a car too closely, and he was given a warning, reports said. After the traffic stop was complete, McGinnis should have been free to go and notJield just because State Patrol Trooper Andy Allen said McGinnis appeared nervous, the court said. The opinion stated Allen was also suspicious of McGinnis’ travel plans of driving across the country from San Francisco to New York, when he could have flown, and recently had flown from Seattle to San Francisco. He rent ed the car in San Francisco. The court said “it is not a criminal conduct to desire to drive across the United States.” McGinnis was charged with two counts of possession of marijuana and sentenced in April 1999 to serve a com bined sentence of about two to four years, the opinion said. The court released a similar opinion Jan. 21,2000, concerning an Aug. 27, 1997, search and seizure of229 pounds of marijuana on Interstate 80 near Grand Island. In Tuesday’s decision, the state Supreme Court directed the District Court to dismiss the case. the | S/PZfFv > ^ ” '"'Have you ever thought about working a part-time job that can help launch your careetl Whether you’re a Business Major or Pre-Med, Education or Nursing or still deciding where you’re headed BryanLGH can provide an exciting environment to help you grow! 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