United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS February 17, 2004
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 03-50690
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
MERCED MADRID-RODRIGUEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. P-03-CR-11-3
Before GARWOOD, EMILIO M. GARZA, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Merced Madrid-Rodriguez was convicted on his conditional
guilty plea of possession with intent to distribute marihuana. He
appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress and
argues that the stop of the truck in which he was a passenger was
not supported by reasonable suspicion and, as a result, the
*
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opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under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.
marihuana seized and the post-arrest statements he made should be
suppressed.
The following facts, among others, were considered in
determining that there was reasonable suspicion to support the stop
of the truck in which Madrid was a passenger: (1) at the time the
truck was initially spotted, it was very close to an illegal border
crossing and was traveling directly behind a white Oldsmobile,
which was the subject of a BOLO report and owned by a known drug
trafficker; (2) the truck matched the description of a truck owned
by a known drug trafficker; (3) both the Oldsmobile and the truck
had two-way radio antennas attached to the roofs; (4) the truck was
stopped in an area known for illegal trafficking; (5) the area in
which the truck was traveling is an area known to be used for
circumventing a checkpoint; (6) the agents were experienced in
cases involving illegal aliens and controlled substances; (7) the
driver of the truck decelerated and accelerated for no apparent
reason and immediately braked and veered onto the shoulder of the
road when he saw a marked patrol car; (8) when a helicopter was
approximately 50 feet away from the truck, the driver of the truck
did not acknowledge the helicopter but merely maintained his speed;
and (9) when the truck hit bumps and turned a corner sharply,
diesel fuel was emitted from the fuel tank.
Border Patrol Agents on roving patrols may make a temporary
investigative stop of a car if they are aware of specific,
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articulable facts that reasonably warrant suspicion to believe that
criminal activity may be afoot. United States v. Arvizo, 534 U.S.
266, 273, 122 S.Ct. 744, 750 (2002). As a result of the foregoing
facts, we conclude that there was reasonable suspicion to support
the stop of the truck. Accordingly, the district court did not err
in denying the motion to suppress the seizure of the marihuana and
the post-arrest statements made by Madrid. See United States v.
Inocencio, 40 F.3d 716, 722-24 (5th Cir. 1994).
Thus, the judgment of the district court is
AFFIRMED.
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