U.S.A v. Banuelos-romero

• Decision Date: 22 February 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09-10465.,09-10465.
• Citation: 597 F.3d 763
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ramon BANUELOS-ROMERO, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

597 F.3d 763

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ramon BANUELOS-ROMERO, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 09-10465.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Feb. 22, 2010.

Matthew John Guide, Asst. U.S. Atty Amarillo, TX, Jay Stevenson Weimer Asst. U.S. Atty. (argued), Fort Worth, TX for U.S.

Jesse L. Quaekenbush (argued), Quackenbush Law Firm, Amarillo, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, GARZA and PRADO, Circuit Judges.

PRADO, Circuit Judge:

Appellant Ramon Banuelos-Romero appeals the denial of his motion to suppress methamphetamine seized in a warrantless search of his automobile. The district court denied Appellant's motion, and Appellant entered a conditional plea preserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. Because we hold that law enforcement had probable cause to search Appellant's vehicle, we affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

While patrolling Interstate 40, Trooper Ben Dollar of the Texas Department of Public Safety ("DPS") observed Appellant cross onto the shoulder while driving what appeared to be a Ford Crown Victoria. Trooper Dollar pulled Appellant over because he was concerned that Appellant was falling asleep or intoxicated. As he waited for Appellant and Appellant's female passenger to gather their driver's licenses and insurance information, Trooper Dollar placed his hand on the car's windshield and noticed fresh black adhesive. Closer inspection revealed silicone sealant slathered all over the sides of the windshield. Trooper Dollar also smelled a strong silicone odor coming from inside the vehicle.

Trooper Dollar also noticed scarring on screws holding a plastic piece between the hood and windshield, which would have to be removed to replace the windshield. Trooper Dollar also observed that Mercury emblems had been removed from the car and replaced with Ford emblems. The computer check revealed that the car was actually a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis which has an identical body to a Ford Crown Victoria.

Trooper Dollar found the replacement of the windshield and the attempt to hide the make and model of the car suspicious because he knew from his training that the Mercury Grand Marquis is a popular drugsmuggling car because it has a hidden compartment, known as a "firewall, " located between the dashboard and the engine of the vehicle. Trooper Dollar knew the firewall on the Grand Marquis is only accessible by removing the windshield or dashboard.

Because Appellant and the female passenger spoke limited English, Trooper Dollar called bilingual Trooper Oscar Esqueda on his cellular phone to speak with them. Before he handed the phone to the female passenger, Trooper Dollar told Trooper Esqueda that he believed they had a "windshield load" and wanted Trooper Esqueda to see if their stories matched.

The passenger and Appellant told Trooper Esqueda that they were traveling from California to Arkansas to find work. Appellant also said that he bought the car a week and a half prior from a man in Arkansas. Trooper Dollar observed both the passenger and Appellant as they spoke with Trooper Esqueda and noted that they appeared nervous. After he spoke with both of them, Trooper Esqueda informed Trooper Dollar that although their stories were largely consistent, he found their story about traveling across the country unlikely.

Trooper Dollar then obtained computer clearances for the vehicle and for Appellant and his passenger's licenses. Trooper Dollar asked Appellant a series of questions in his limited Spanish about whether Appellant had any contraband in the vehicle, to which Appellant responded negatively. Trooper Dollar then asked Appellant "Puedo registrar el car si or no?" Appellant responded affirmatively in English, then in Spanish. Trooper Dollar then searched the car at the side of the interstate. After finding no contraband Trooper Dollar drove with Appellant in hispatrol car to a DPS location while the female passenger followed driving the Mercury Grand Marquis. After troopers removed Appellant's vehicle's windshield, they found methamphetamine hidden in the firewall.

The Government charged Appellant with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Appellant moved to suppress the methamphetamine, arguing that Trooper Dollar and DPS violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. A magistrate judge held an evidentiary hearing in which Troopers Dollar and Esqueda, Appellant, a Spanish language interpreter, and an expert on Texas law testified.

The magistrate judge found the initial stop valid, and that before effectuating the purpose of the initial stop, DPS developed reasonable suspicion that Appellant's vehicle contained contraband. The magistrate judge found that Appellant had not voluntarily consented to the search because when Trooper Dollar asked, "Puedo registrar el car si or no, " Appellant thought Trooper Dollar wanted to check the vehicle's registration. However, the magistrate judge denied the motion to suppress because the totality of the circumstances gave DPS probable cause to search the vehicle, which, in addition to exigent circumstances created by the vehicle's presence on the side of the interstate, fit the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. The district court adopted the magistrate judge's findings, Appellant conditionally pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and the district court sentenced him to 168 months' imprisonment. This appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

We review the district court's factual findings for clear error and its legal con clusions de novo. United States v. Ibarra 493 F.3d 526, 530 (5th Cir.2007) (citing United States v. Runyan, 275 F.3d 449, 456 (5th Cir.2001)). Whether those facts establish probable cause is a legal question that we review de novo. United States v. Hearn, 563 F.3d 95, 103 (5th Cir.2009) (citing United States v. Muniz-Melchor, 894 F.2d 1430, 1439 n. 9 (5th Cir.1990)).

A. Illegal Detention

"The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures. Traffic stops are considered seizures within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment." United States v. Grant, 349 F.3d 192, 196 (5th Cir.2003) (citing Delaivare v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979)). To determine whether a seizure is reasonable, we consider (1) "whether the officer's action was justified at its inception, " and (2) "whether the officer's subsequent actions were reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that justified the stop." United States v. Brigham, 382 F.3d 500, 506 (5th Cir.2004) (en banc) (citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 19-20, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968)).

"For a traffic stop to be justified at its inception, an officer must have an objectively reasonable suspicion that some sort of illegal activity, such as a traffic violation, occurred, or is about to occur, before stopping the vehicle." United States v. Lopez-Moreno, 420 F.3d 420, 430 (5th Cir.2005) (citing United States v. Breeland, 53 F.3d 100, 102 (5th Cir.1995)). Pursuant to a valid traffic stop, "an officer can request a driver's license, insurance papers, vehicle registration, run a computer check thereon, and issue a citation." United States v. Shabazz, 993 F.2d 431, 437 (5th Cir.1993). The "detention must be temporary and last no longer than isnecessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop...." Brigham, 382 F.3d at 507.

However, if "additional reasonable suspicion arises in the course of the stop and before the initial purpose of the stop has been fulfilled, then the detention may continue until the new reasonable suspicion has been dispelled or confirmed." Lopez-Moreno, 420 F.3d at 431. An officer has reasonable suspicion when he "can point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant the search and seizure." Id. at 430 (citing United States v. Santiago, 310 F.3d 336, 340 (5th Cir.2002)). We look at the "totality of the circumstances of each case to see whether the detaining officer has a particularized and objective basis for suspecting legal wrongdoing." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). "[R]easonable suspicion need not rise to the level of probable cause." Id. (citing United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 274, 122 S.Ct. 744, 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002)).

Appellant argues that DPS violated his Fourth Amendment rights when Trooper Dollar detained him after obtaining computer clearances on his license and vehicle. The Government counters that by the time Trooper Dollar obtained computer clearances, he had developed a reasonable suspicion that Appellant's vehicle contained contraband, and that Trooper Dollar could thus continue the detention until he dispelled or confirmed that suspicion. We agree with the Government.

Trooper Dollar had an objective basis for suspecting legal wrongdoing based on the fresh sealant, strong silicone odor, and scarred screws that strongly indicated the windshield had been recently replaced. Trooper Dollar knew that Mercury Grand Marquis's have a hidden compartment that can only be accessed by removing the windshield. This information formed the basis of Trooper Dollar's reasonable suspicion, and allowed him to continue the detention until he confirmed or dispelled the suspicion that there was contraband hidden in the vehicle. See id. at 431.

B. Probable Cause

We now turn to whether DPS had probable cause to search the vehicle because if probable cause existed, Appellant's consent was not required for Trooper Dollar to search. See United States v Mendoza-Gonzalez, 318 F.3d 663, 666 (5th Cir.2003). Law enforcement may conduct a warrantless search of an automobile if "(1) the officer conducting the search had 'probable cause to believe that the vehicle in...