Judge grants motion to suppress vehicle evidence in State v. Simeon Alexander Nevills

Judge Stephanie Boyd of the 187th Judicial District Court granted a defense motion to suppress evidence gathered during a vehicle search in the case against Simeon Alexander Nevills.

The judge said she reviewed the prosecution's DVD of the stop and the testimony from the hearing and found the officer's account inconsistent. "The court is going to find that the state's witness was not credible. And so I'm gonna grant the motion to suppress," the judge said on the record.

The court found the initial traffic stop lawful. The judge described the key issue as whether the officer had probable cause to search the vehicle after claiming to smell marijuana. According to the court's account of the recording and testimony, the officer did not mention smelling marijuana during the initial several minutes of contact; the judge said the officer left the scene, ran the vehicle information, called for what the judge characterized as "PC for this vehicle," and only afterward reported smelling marijuana and conducted a full search of the vehicle.

Because the judge concluded the officer's claim to have smelled marijuana was not credible in light of the timing and the officer's statements on the recording, she suppressed the evidence obtained in the search. The ruling means the suppressed evidence cannot be used by the state at trial unless the prosecution successfully challenges the ruling on appeal or finds other admissible evidence.

The judge's suppression ruling resolves the defense motion filed in advance of trial; further scheduling for the case was not specified in the court's oral ruling.