Nothing in the affidavit definitively matches the electrical wires in the basement bedroom with the wire found around Victim's neck. Police apparently made such a match only after executing the search warrant. In State v. Hernandez, 111 N.M. 226, 229, 804 P.2d 417, 420 (Ct.App. 1990), our Court of Appeals held that there was no probable cause to support a search warrant where police presented evidence that blood had been found at the scene of a burglary and the defendant was later found to have a cut on his hand. The blood at the scene was apparently not matched chemically or genetically to the accused.

Attaway, 117 N.M. at 145, 870 P.2d at 107;see also State v. Wisdom, 110 N.M. 772, 774, 800 P.2d 206, 208 (Ct.App. 1990) ("[T]he ultimate question of whether the contents of the affidavit are sufficient is a conclusion of law."). In carrying out our review of the validity of the affidavit for the issuance of the search warrant, we consider only the content of the sworn affidavit submitted to the issuing magistrate judge.State v. Hernandez, 111 N.M. 226, 227, 804 P.2d 417, 418 (Ct. App. 1990). We are mindful of the admonitions that a reviewing court should not impose technical requirements on an affidavit nor insist on elaborate specificity, but instead we should apply a common-sense reading of the affidavit, while bearing in mind that such affidavits are generally prepared by police officers who are not lawyers.

Other states that continue to employ the Aguilar-Spinelli standard generally have drawn a similar distinction. See, e.g., State v. Hernandez, 804 P.2d 417, 419-20 (N.M.Ct.App. 1990) (declining to presume tipsters' reliability pursuant to "citizen-informer rule" when police affidavit did not demonstrate that informants were "motivated by good citizenship" or "act[ing] openly in aid of law enforcement"); State v. Yeomans, 10 S.W.3d 293, 296 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1999) ("Information provided by an ordinary citizen is presumed to be reliable . . . [but] if the source is a criminal informant, reliability must be determined by the two-pronged Aguilar Spinelli test. . . ."); State v. Northness, 582 P.2d 546, 549 (Wash.Ct.App. 1978) (attributing greater reliability to "ordinary citizen" than to "criminal or professional informant"). The California Supreme Court summarized the issue well in a decision rendered when it still applied Aguilar-Spinelli: "[E]xperienced stool pigeons or persons criminally involved or disposed are not regarded as `citizen-informants' because they are generally motivated by something other than good citizenship."

87, 88, 860 P.2d 217, 218 (Ct.App. 1993); State v. Gutierrez, 115 N.M. 551, 551-52, 854 P.2d 878, 878-79 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 115 N.M. 545, 854 P.2d 872 (1993); State v. Anderson, 115 N.M. 433, 434, 853 P.2d 135, 136 (Ct.App.), cert. granted, 115 N.M. 145, 848 P.2d 531 (1993); State v. Williams, 114 N.M. 485, 486, 840 P.2d 1251, 1252 (Ct.App. 1992); State v. Sutton, 112 N.M. 449, 450, 816 P.2d 518, 519 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 112 N.M. 308, 815 P.2d 161 (1991); State v. Cochran, 112 N.M. 190, 191, 812 P.2d 1338, 1339 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 112 N.M. 308, 815 P.2d 161 (1991); State v. Estrada, 111 N.M. 798, 799, 810 P.2d 817, 818 (Ct.App. 1991); State v. Watchman, 111 N.M. 727, 729, 809 P.2d 641, 643 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 111 N.M. 529, 807 P.2d 227 (1991); State v. Herrera, 111 N.M. 560, 562, 807 P.2d 744, 746 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 111 N.M. 529, 807 P.2d 227 (1991); State v. Goss, 111 N.M. 530, 531, 807 P.2d 228, 229 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 111 N.M. 416, 806 P.2d 65 (1991); State v. Hernandez, 111 N.M. 226, 227, 804 P.2d 417, 419 (Ct.App. 1990); State v. Munoz, 111 N.M. 118, 118-19, 802 P.2d 23, 23-24 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 111 N.M. 136, 802 P.2d 645 (1990); State v. Lucas, 110 N.M. 272, 273, 794 P.2d 1201, 1202 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 110 N.M. 260, 794 P.2d 734 (1990); State v. Bybee, 109 N.M. 44, 44, 781 P.2d 316, 316 (Ct.App. 1989); Lewis, 107 N.M. at 183, 754 P.2d at 854; State v. Hensel, 106 N.M. 8, 8, 738 P.2d 126, 126 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 105 N.M. 720, 737 P.2d 79, and cert. denied, 484 U.S. 958, 108 S.Ct. 358, 98 L.Ed.2d 383 (1987). In its decision below, the Court of Appeals rejected Defendants' arguments that they had reserved for appeal the issue of sufficiency of the evidence.

{19} Defendant points out that the informants in this case had not given reliable information to the police in the past nor were they shown to be volunteer citizen-informants. See id. ¶¶ 13-16; State v. Hernandez, 111 N.M. 226, 228, 804 P.2d 417, 419 (Ct.App. 1990). The informants, however, were identified by name.

7. When an application for a search warrant is based on an affidavit, the affidavit must contain sufficient facts to enable the issuing magistrate to independently pass judgment on the existence of probable cause. State v. Cordova, 109 N.M. 211, 213, 784 P.2d 30, 32 (1989); State v. Hernandez, 111 N.M. 226, 227, 804 P.2d 417, 418 (Ct.App. 1990). Probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant must be established from within the four corners of the supporting affidavit.

"When an application for a search warrant is based on an affidavit, the affidavit must contain sufficient facts to enable the issuing magistrate to independently pass judgment on the existence of probable cause." See State v. Hernandez, 111 N.M. 226, 227, 804 P.2d 417, 418 (Ct.App. 1990). The standard of review on appeal is whether, given a common sense reading, the affidavit supports the issuance of the search warrant.

The nature of the statements made and the circumstances in which they were given suffice to establish credibility for the purpose of determining probable cause. See State v. Hernandez, 111 N.M. 226, 804 P.2d 417 (Ct.App. 1990); State v. Therrien, 110 N.M. 261, 263-64, 794 P.2d 735, 737-38 (Ct.App. 1990). As for the other sources whose identities are not provided in the affidavit, the nature of the information provided (such as the means of the escape) strongly suggests that the sources were law enforcement and prison officials, who are also presumed to be reliable.

Stating that eyewitnesses or victims of crime are presumed reliable, the court found that the officer had a reasonable basis for stopping the driver in order to investigate. Id. at 538, 539, 760 P.2d at 1304, 1305; see also State v. Hernandez, 111 N.M. 226, 804 P.2d 417 (Ct.App. 1990); State v. Therrien, 110 N.M. at 264, 794 P.2d at 738 (refusing to assume the veracity of an anonymous Crimestoppers caller); State v. Michael G., 106 N.M. 644, 748 P.2d 17 (Ct.App. 1987) (eyewitness informants are subject to much less stringent credibility requirements than ordinary police informants because citizens presumably have nothing to gain by fabrication). In contrast to this case, where the informant was a Crimestopper, the caller in Van Ruiten was an eyewitness to the crime who predicted the intoxicated driver's behavior.