IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
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No. 97-50614
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
VERSUS
CARLOS MOYA-LEYVA,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
(P97-CR-48-1)
_________________________
July 30, 1998
Before KING, SMITH, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
At approximately 6:15 a.m., Carlos Moya-Leyva was stopped near
the Marfa Border Patrol checkpoint. Resting on his back seat, in
plain view of the officer making the stop, were bundles of
marihuana. On the front seat were a jack, spare tire, and other
items normally carried in a car trunk. The trunk, in turn, was
full of marihuana. A total of 344.3 pounds of marihuana was
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion
should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
ultimately found in the car.
Moya-Leyva made a conditional plea of guilty to importing
marihuana, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion
to suppress. We affirm.
Border Patrol agents may temporarily stop vehicles for
investigation if the agent is “aware of specific articulable facts,
together with rational inferences from those facts, that reasonably
warrant suspicion” that the vehicle is involved in some illegal
activity. See United States v. Brigoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 884
(1975). A court deciding whether an officer had reasonable
suspicion must consider the totality of the circumstances,
including the officers' collective knowledge. See United States v.
Cardona, 955 F.2d 976, 977-80 (5th Cir. 1992). Courts generally
look to a number of factors that may justify suspicion, including
the characteristics of the area; the officers' experience;
proximity to the border; patterns of traffic; characteristics of
the vehicle; the driver's behavior; known information of recent
illegal trafficking in the area; and the number, behavior, and
appearance of passengers. See Brigoni-Ponce, 506 U.S. at 884-85.
The district court considered the following circumstances:
The Marfa checkpoint is located about sixty miles from the Mexican
border, on a route frequently used by smugglers. Moya-Leyva passed
by the checkpoint at a time known by smugglers to be when officers
change shifts. He was traveling north, away from the border. As
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he passed by, officers were searching another car, a Firebird, to
which a drug-sniffing dog had alerted. Although the Firebird
appeared to be designed to smuggle drugs, the officers had found
none and had therefore concluded that the Firebird might have been
the “decoy” or “scout” car in the commonly-used “lead car, load
car” arrangement. The driver of the Firebird had also mentioned to
the officers that he had recently purchased several “blue narco's
cars.” Moya-Leyva was driving a dark blue Plymouth four-door, a
former police car.
As he drove by, the officers could see by the checkpoint's
streetlights that Moya-Leyva stared straight ahead “as if he had
blinders on,” contrary to their experience that it is “human
nature” to look over at officers searching a car. The Firebird
they were searching had temporary paper tags, similar to Moya-
Leyva's. The officers also noticed that Moya-Leyva's car was
riding low, as if it was carrying a heavy load in the trunk. The
officers concluded that Moya-Leyva's vehicle might be the “load
car” following the Firebird's lead. When one officer said to the
other that he was “going after” Moya-Leyva's car, the driver of the
Firebird appeared nervous.
Border Patrol Agent Harrison followed Moya-Leyva. Harrison
had twelve years' experience with the Border Patrol, with 2½ years'
experience at the Marfa checkpoint. Harrison found it unusual that
Moya-Leyva never looked at him in the rear-view mirror. On several
occasions, Moya-Leyva slowed down as if to encourage Harrison to
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pass, but never pulled out of the traffic lane as Harrison said is
customary in the area. Eventually, convinced that there was
“something illegal going on,” Harrison put on his siren to stop
Moya-Leyva. After traveling for about another mile, Moya-Leyva
pulled over, and Harrison saw the marihuana in plain view.
Based on these circumstances, Agent Harrison easily had
reasonable suspicion to stop Moya-Leyva. AFFIRMED.
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