U.S. v. Quiroz-Hernandez
| Decision Date | 16 March 1995 |
| Docket Number | A,QUIROZ-HERNANDE,No. 94-60023,94-60023 |
| Citation | 48 F.3d 858 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Raullfonso Hernandez-Lopez and Servando Lopez, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Gerald H. Goldstein, Cynthia H. Orr, Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley, San Antonio, TX, for Quiroz-Hernandez.
J.R. "Bobby" Flores, McAllen, TX, for Hernandez-Lopez.
Nancy Simonson, Canales & Simonson, Corpus Christi, TX, for Lopez.
Paula C. Offenhauser, Kathlyn G. Snyder, James Powers, Asst. U.S. Attys., Gaynelle Griffin Jones, U.S. Atty., Houston, TX, for appellee.
Appeals from the United States District Court For the Southern District of Texas.
Before REYNALDO G. GARZA, GARWOOD and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
On February 16, 1993, a grand jury indicted several defendants for drug activities occurring in McAllen, Texas. In count one of the indictment, Raul Quiroz-Hernandez, Servando Lopez and Alfonso Hernandez-Lopez (collectively the "Appellants") were charged for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A) and 846. 1 In count two, Raul Quiroz-Hernandez and Alfonso Hernandez-Lopez were charged for possession with intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A) and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2. 2 Likewise, in count three, Servando Lopez and Jose Ignacio Lopez were charged for possession with intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine.
A jury convicted Raul Quiroz-Hernandez on counts one and two. He was subsequently sentenced to 210 months imprisonment, followed by a five year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. The jury also convicted Alfonso Hernandez-Lopez on these two counts. Accordingly, he was sentenced to 240 months imprisonment, followed by a ten year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. Servando Lopez was acquitted of the conspiracy offense. However, he was convicted on count three and was sentenced to 262 months confinement, followed by a ten year term of supervised release and a $50 special assessment. The Appellants appeal these convictions. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the district court.
FACTS
On December 17, 1992, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force Agent Rolando Garcia was familiarizing his new partner, Anacleto Martinez, with suspected drug traffickers from the McAllen area. The "targets" in question were identified as Lorenzo Later that day, the agents returned to American Automotive where they again encountered the Lincoln. The occupants were standing outside the vehicle and looking in the direction of Ramon Olvera, who was standing outside the business. Raul Valladares was standing by the driver's door and appeared to be speaking to Ramon Olvera. Raul Quiroz-Hernandez (Quiroz) was standing by the front passenger door and Alfonso Hernandez-Lopez (Hernandez) was standing near the rear passenger door. After several minutes the Lincoln departed for a local Wal-Mart parking lot, where it stopped behind a white Astro van. At that time, Hernandez and Leonel Yanez-Trevino exchanged places: Hernandez exited the Lincoln and sat on the driver's side of the van and Yanez-Trevino exited the van and entered the Lincoln. Once Hernandez was inside the van, Quiroz approached him to retrieve a cellular phone and exchange words. Thereafter, the Astro van and the Lincoln left the parking lot.
Reyes 3 and Ernesto Gamboa, Reyes' right-hand man. The targets were followed by the agents to American Automotive, a business owned by Reyes. At American Automotive the agents observed a new Lincoln Town Car (Lincoln) with Mexican license plates. Suspecting that the Lincoln's occupants might be a possible Mexican drug connection, Agent Garcia phoned the U.S. Customs Service and learned that the vehicle had been in the United States since October 9, 1992. After the Lincoln left the business, the agents attempted to follow it but it was lost in heavy traffic. The agents then returned to American Automotive where they observed an individual, later identified as Ramon Olvera, conducting countersurveillance activities. Seeing no further activity, the agents left the area.
Suspecting illegal activity, the agents followed the van and called for a McAllen police unit to assist in stopping the vehicle. Police Officer Mitchell Reinitz responded to the call and pulled the van over. After an exchange with the police officer, Hernandez was arrested. 4 The Astro van was searched after a K-9 unit detected contraband. A total of 23 bundles of cocaine, with an approximate weight of 462.7 kilograms, were recovered from the van. Among the various items seized from the vehicle was a utility bill for a residence at 3604 North 27th Street.
Leonel Yanez-Trevino, Raul Valladares-Del Angel (Valladares), 5 and Quiroz were arrested shortly thereafter when they returned to American Automotive. Quiroz, the driver of the Lincoln, was searched and was found to be in possession of $640. Valladares, the front-seat passenger, was in possession of $8,000 and two notecards with writing on them. One of these cards bore a notation of "47" "2" and "94." Another card had "47 bultos " or bundles written on it. A leather bag containing $43,450 was recovered from the front seat of the vehicle. The leather bag also contained a white index card with the following notation on it: "47 X 20K = 940k." Below the "940K" was "22K" and below the latter figure was the sum of "962K."
On the following day, a search warrant was executed for Valladares' residence. Ten pounds of cocaine, wrapped identically to the cocaine found in the Astro van, were recovered from the master bedroom. The agents also found: the title to the Astro van, stacks of money totalling $194,336, a money counter and money wrappers, a triple beam scale, a military identification with the name Guadalupe Garza but bearing Valladares' photograph and a second utility bill for the 3604 North 27th Street residence addressed to Guadalupe Garza.
On January 6, 1993, surveillance was conducted at the residence located on 3604 North 27th Street. During the surveillance, agents twice noticed a gray Suburu drive through the subdivision. On the second such occasion, Jose Ignacio Lopez-Moya exited the vehicle and walked toward the residence. After several minutes elapsed the Suburu exited the subdivision with a Ford van following closely behind. The agents attempted to stop both vehicles but only the van stopped. The Suburu, driven by Servando Lopez, led Jose Ignacio Lopez-Moya was later identified as the driver of the van. A search of the Ford van revealed 24 bundles of cocaine wrapped identically to those seized from the Astro van. These bundles contained approximately 481 kilograms of cocaine.
the officers on a high-speed chase before it was successfully detained.
A search of the residence itself revealed large rolls of cellophane, rolls of duct tape and boxes of fabric softener, which is used to mask the scent of narcotics. Wrappings identical to those found on the previously seized bundles of cocaine were discovered. A large bundle of cocaine, weighing 20.5 kilograms, was also found in a bathtub. Agent Garcia offered testimony to indicate that this residence was used as a stash house for narcotics.
DISCUSSION
In his first point of error, Hernandez argues that the officers lacked reasonable suspicion to make the initial stop of the vehicle. Therefore, the initial stop and its fruits were tainted. Hernandez argues absent this illegal evidence, there is insufficient evidence to sustain his convictions.
Police officers may briefly detain individuals on the street, even if there is no probable cause to arrest them, if they have a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot. United States v. Michelletti, 13 F.3d 838, 840 (5th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 102, 130 L.Ed.2d 50 (1994). The Fourth Amendment requires only some minimum level of objective justification for the officers' actions--but more than a hunch--measured in light of the totality of the circumstances. Id. Reasonable suspicion may be supported by particular and articulable facts, which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant an intrusion. Id.
During trial, the government demonstrated that the DEA agents were conducting surveillance on two suspected drug traffickers and that a Lincoln bearing Mexican license plates was observed twice at American Automotive, 6 a business associated with the narcotics suspects. Furthermore, the officers noticed an individual conducting what they deemed to be countersurveillance activity at that establishment. Afterwards, the Lincoln was followed to a parking lot where one of its occupants exchanged places with the driver of a second vehicle. The second vehicle was a van, which the officers knew from experience was a type of vehicle commonly used to transport narcotics. Pursuant to all these facts, they decided to perform an investigatory stop of the Astro van. In reviewing the evidence as a whole, this Court has no doubt that the facts were sufficient to create a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot, thus justifying the stop.
Hernandez asserts that the lower court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence because he had possession of the van and permission from Valladares, the alleged owner, to drive it. During the suppression hearing, however, Hernandez failed to show that the title owner of the van was in turn a corporation owned by Valladares. Nevertheless, he now claims that the government unwittingly established this link at trial. 7 Therefore, he asserts a legal possessory interest in the van and thus contests the search of the...
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