METH RAID EVIDENCE RULED INADMISSIBLE

A federal judge has thrown out the evidence that led to the arrest and
indictment of two people accused of running a methamphetamine lab near
Omaha's Pinewood Elementary School.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon cited police misconduct in his
ruling, which came at the request of defense attorneys for Eric
Reinholz and Margaret Chevalier. Reinholz and Chevalier were arrested
in November 1998 after police found meth ingredients and a small
amount of the drug in their house at 63rd Street and Newport Avenue.

Bataillon and U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Thalken, who also reviewed
the case, determined that an Omaha police narcotics officer misled a
state court judge when applying for a search warrant.

The police officer in question, Steven Podany, said in an affidavit
seeking the search warrant that a confidential and reliable source
told him that Reinholz "was involved in the use of methamphetamine and
may also be involved in the distribution of methamphetamine."

The source in question actually was a pharmacist from whom Reinholz
had purchased iodine crystals - a legal substance that can be used to
process methamphetamine.

"The pharmacist knew nothing of Reinholz or his activities except that
Reinholz ordered and obtained iodine crystals," Thalken wrote in his
recommendation to Bataillon.

Although it is not unusual for police officers to cite confidential
sources in their search warrants, Podany's request for a search
warrant implied that his source was somebody with personal knowledge
of illegal activity, Thalken said.

"Such was not the case and Officer Podany knew that," Thalken said.
"Officer Podany was reckless in his disregard for the truth in not
disclosing the true nature of the information received from the
'confidential and reliable' source."

Omaha police spokesman Dan Cisar said the department was reviewing the
case and could not comment on it Wednesday morning. Podany could not
be reached for comment.

After removing the confidential source's information, the other
incriminating evidence against Reinholz were several syringes and a
pipe with drug residue found in a search of trash placed outside
Reinholz's home.

Although police are allowed to search a suspect's trash without a
warrant, Bataillon cited a previous federal ruling that said the
discovery of minimal drug paraphernalia in a suspect's trash is not
enough to justify a search warrant.

"There was no evidence of continued drug activity in (Reinholz's)
house, and there was no evidence that the contraband in the trash
container actually came from the suspect house as opposed to some
passer-by or neighbor."

Once the warrant is found to be improper, all the evidence discovered
in the search is considered inadmissible in federal court. U.S.
Attorney Tom Monaghan could not be reached Wednesday morning to see if
he would appeal the case.

Authorities still could bring charges against Reinholz and Chevalier
in state court, although the search warrant would again face scrutiny.