Deshler man denied motions to suppress, federal trial set for January
LINCOLN — A Deshler man accused stockpiling drugs and weapons is scheduled to stand trial in federal court next month.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Zwart denied two motions to suppress from 61-year-old Robert Dankemeyer last week. He was attempting to invalidate evidence obtained during the execution of two search warrants by the Thayer County Sheriff’s Office.
The issue dates back to June of last year when Dankemeyer was arrested after police say he threatened people with a gun outside of a bar. Later, sheriff’s deputies searched his house and car and found one pound of meth, drug paraphernalia, drug manufacturing tools, at least nine guns, explosive materials and an armor vest. Dankemeyer had at least seven previous felony convictions and was not allowed to possess weapons.
In motions made in federal court, Dankemeyer argued the warrants used to find the drugs and weapons in his car and home focused too heavily on the disturbance at the bar and didn’t create a sufficient basis for a search. He argued that witness statements in the warrant were unreliable and that the warrants didn’t create a connection between the disturbance and his property.
Zwart disagreed with all arguments. In court documents, she said the unnamed witnesses in the warrant were reliable in part because they gave their statements in person. She said three named witnesses and video evidence added to the basis for the warrant. She said there was a connection to the house and car because there “was a reasonable basis for officers to believe that evidence of (the bar disturbance) might be located his residence.”
Zwart denied a request for an evidentiary hearing about the motion to suppress and set Dankemeyer’s jury trial to begin on January 18 in Lincoln. It is scheduled to last three days.
Dankemeyer is charged with intent to distribute meth and being a felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison. The State originally charged Dankemeyer with 10 felonies, but the charges were dismissed once federal prosecutors took over the case.
