U.S. v. Santana-Garcia, SANTANA-GARCIA and GONZALO

• Decision Date: 05 September 2001
• Docket Number: SANTANA-GARCIA and GONZALO,No. 00-4087,RUIZ-TOVA,D,00-4087
• Citation: 264 F.3d 1188
• Parties: (10th Cir. 2001) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JOSE DE JESUSALONSOefendants-Appellees
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

Page 1188

264 F.3d 1188 (10th Cir. 2001)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JOSE DE JESUS SANTANA-GARCIA and GONZALO ALONSO RUIZ-TOVAR, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 00-4087

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

TENTH CIRCUIT

September 5, 2001

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH, (D.C. No. 99-CR-485-W)

Michael P. Kennedy, Assistant United States Attorney (Paul M. Warner, United States Attorney, with him on the brief), Salt Lake City, Utah, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Stephen R. McCaughey, Salt Lake City, Utah, for Defendant-Appellee Jose de Jesus Santana-Garcia.

G. Fred Metos, Salt Lake City, Utah, for Defendant-Appellee Gonzalo Alonso Ruiz-Tovar.

Before BALDOCK, McWILLIAMS, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.

BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.

After a traffic stop of Defendants Jose de Jesus Santana-Garcia and Gonzalo Alonso Ruiz-Tovar, a Utah State Trooper uncovered drugs during a search of their vehicle. A federal grand jury charged Defendants in a three-count indictment with (1) possessing 500 or more grams of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); (2) possessing 500 or more grams of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); and (3) eluding examination and inspection by immigration officials in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(2). Defendants subsequently moved to suppress physical evidence of the drugs. The district court suppressed the evidence, holding that the scope of Defendants' detention exceeded permissible bounds due to the trooper's lack of objectively reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. That illegal detention, according to the district court, tainted Defendants' subsequent consent to search their vehicle. The Government appeals. Our jurisdiction arises under 18 U.S.C. § 3731. We reverse.¹

I.

At approximately 7:02 a.m. on August 13, 1999, Utah State Trooper Korey Wright observed a silver Ford Crown Victoria with Oregon license plates coast through a stop sign at the milepost 222 northbound exit of I-15 in Juab County, Utah. Trooper Wright activated his lights. The vehicle pulled into a Texaco Tri-Mart near the exit and stopped. Trooper Wright informed the driver of the vehicle, Defendant Ruiz-Tovar, the reason for the stop and requested his license. Defendant Ruiz-Tovar indicated he did not speak English. The vehicle's passenger, Defendant Santana-Garcia, spoke limited English and informed Trooper Wright that Defendant Ruiz-Tovar did not have a driver's license. Defendant Ruiz-Tovar produced a Mexican voter card for identification. Meanwhile, Defendant Santana-Garcia handed Trooper Wright an Oregon driver's license. During this exchange, Trooper Wright observed the presence of two air fresheners near the front passenger's side of the vehicle.

At approximately 7:05 a.m., Trooper Wright returned to his patrol car to request the assistance of Spanish-speaking Trooper Nathan Lindsey. He also requested a computer check on Defendant Santana-Garcia's driver's license and the vehicle's license plate. Dispatch reported that Defendant Santana-Garcia's driver's license was valid and that an Omar Garcia-Garcia was the registered owner of the vehicle. The vehicle was not listed as stolen and Defendants had no outstanding warrants against them.

While awaiting Trooper Lindsey's arrival, Trooper Wright returned to Defendants' vehicle around 7:07 a.m. Trooper Wright asked Defendants, who were standing outside the vehicle, about the vehicle's owner. Defendant Santana-Garcia explained that he had borrowed the vehicle from a "friend." Next, Trooper Wright inquired about Defendants' travel plans. At one point during the conversation, Defendant Santana-Garcia appeared to indicate they were traveling from Mexico to Colorado. This response prompted Trooper Wright to ask Defendants if they were "legal." Both Defendants stated they were not legal.² Trooper Wright next requested the vehicle's registration. Defendant Santana-Garcia handed Trooper Wright the registration, which listed Omar Garcia-Garcia as the vehicle's owner. Trooper Wright next asked for proof of insurance. Defendant Santana-Garcia indicated he knew nothing about the vehicle's insurance.

At approximately 7:16 a.m., Trooper Lindsey arrived on the scene. After briefly questioning Defendants about their travel plans,³ Trooper Lindsey asked them if they had drugs in the vehicle. Both Defendants stated no. Trooper Lindsey then asked if he and Trooper Wright could look in the vehicle. The Defendants' agreed. On the passenger's side of the vehicle near an air freshener, Trooper Wright observed a partially open glove box. Behind the glove box, Trooper Wright located a duct-taped package which he believed contained drugs. The troopers placed both Defendants under arrest and read them their Miranda rights. Continuing the search, Trooper Wright located a second duct-taped package behind the dashboard's radio, also near an air freshener. The two packages tested positive for cocaine and methamphetamine respectively.

II.

Following a suppression hearing at which Troopers Wright and Lindsey testified, the district court granted Defendants' motion to suppress in a thorough written order. The court first concluded Defendants had no standing to challenge the search of the vehicle because they did not establish they had lawful possession of the vehicle at the time of the search.⁴ The district court, however, recognized that Defendants had standing to object to their detention. If Defendants' detention was illegal, as a general rule any evidence obtained as a result of their detention must be excluded as fruit of the poisonous tree. See United States v. Villa-Chaparro, 115 F.3d 797, 800 n.1 (10th Cir. 1997).

In determining the legality of Defendants' detention, the court relied solely on factors which Trooper Wright testified he considered to establish reasonable suspicion. These factors were (1) the vehicle's northbound travel on I-15 beyond the Colorado exit; (2) the vehicle's "lived-in" appearance; (3) the absence of visible luggage inside the vehicle's passenger compartment; (4) the presence of two air fresheners inside the vehicle; (5) the vehicle's third-party registration; and (6) Defendants' "closed" demeanor. Analyzing each of these factors, the district court concluded that Trooper Wright could not have formed the requisite reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to justify Defendants' continuing detention beyond the purpose for the initial stop. The court further concluded that Defendants' illegal detention tainted their subsequent consent to search the vehicle.

On appeal, the Government asserts that the district court erroneously failed to consider other factors which were known to Trooper Wright, but which he apparently did not rely on to detain Defendants. These factors include (1) Defendants' failure to provide proof of insurance; (2) Defendants' admission of their illegal immigration status; (3) Defendant Santana-Garcia's inability to provide the location of their destination in Colorado; and (4) Defendant Ruiz-Tovar's lack of a driver's license. According to the Government, all the factors within Trooper Wright's awareness considered in their entirety were adequate to justify Defendant's continuing detention.⁵ Defendants counter with the proposition that in evaluating the reasonableness of a detention, the law does not permit a court to analyze factors which a law enforcement officer is aware of but does not expressly consider as a basis for detention.

We conclude that the district court erred in applying a subjective test to the legality of Defendants' detention. Because Trooper Wright had probable cause to arrest Defendants for violations of state traffic and federal immigration law, we conclude their detention beyond the initial purpose of the stop was reasonable, and lawful. Accordingly, we need not decide whether the totality of the circumstances justified Defendants' continuing detention on the basis of reasonable suspicion.

III.

We measure probable cause against an objective standard and evaluate it in relation to the circumstances as they would appear to a prudent, cautious and trained police officer. The subjective belief of an individual officer as to whether probable cause existed for detaining a criminal suspect is not dispositive. United States v. Davis, 197 F.3d 1048, 1051 (10th Cir. 1999). That an officer did not believe probable cause existed to detain a suspect does not preclude the Government from justifying the suspect's detention by establishing probable cause. See Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 507 (1983) (plurality) ("The fact that the officers did not believe there was probable cause . . . would not foreclose the State from justifying Royer's custody by proving probable cause.")

Trooper Wright learned at the outset of the encounter that the driver of the vehicle, Defendant Ruiz-Tovar, did not possess a valid driver's license. Under Utah law, operating a vehicle without a valid driver's license is a Class C misdemeanor. Utah Code Ann. § 53-2-202. Utah law authorizes arrest for the commission of a Class C misdemeanor. Id. § 77-7-2. See United States v. Lugo, 170 F.3d 996, 1003 (10th Cir. 1999). Thus, probable cause to arrest Defendant Ruiz-Tovar arose seconds into the stop.

Trooper Wright, however, did not arrest Defendant Ruiz-Tovar at that point.⁶ Rather, because Defendant Ruiz-Tovar did not appear to speak English, and Defendant Santana-Garcia appeared to speak only limited English, Trooper Wright radioed for the assistance of Spanish-speaking Trooper Lindsey. While awaiting Trooper Lindsey's arrival, Trooper Wright, after verifying Defendant Santana Garcia's identity and running the vehicle's license plate, inquired about the vehicle's owner and about Defendants' travel plans. This questioning occurred within about five minutes of the initial stop and was plainly permissible. "Questions about travel plans are routine and may be asked as a matter of course...