UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
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No. 95-50154
Summary Calendar
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JOSE ALFREDO VARGAS-URIBE,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
(P-94-CR-36-2)
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February 21, 1996
Before DAVIS, BARKSDALE, and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Jose Alfredo Vargas-Uribe appeals his conviction for
conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. We
AFFIRM.
I.
Following a concerned citizen's report to border patrol agents
about suspicious activity approximately three miles from the
Mexican border, border patrol agents conducted surveillance and
stopped vehicles driven by Vargas and a co-defendant. The co-
defendant had a pair of pliers in his pocket, and his van contained
*
Pursuant to Local Rule 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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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 Local Rule 47.5.4.
marijuana. Vargas consented to a search of his vehicle, in which
agents found a package for pliers consistent with those found in
the co-defendant's pocket. Vargas accompanied agents to the border
patrol station for additional questioning, waived his rights, and
confessed to being involved in an operation to smuggle marijuana
across the border.
Vargas moved to suppress the pliers package and his
confession. After conducting an evidentiary hearing and receiving
additional briefing on the lawfulness of the stop, the district
court denied the motion. Following a bench trial, Vargas was
convicted; he was sentenced to 76 months imprisonment.
II.
Vargas contends that his initial detention and the subsequent
search and interrogation were conducted without probable cause or
reasonable suspicion. In reviewing a suppression ruling, we view
the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party,
and will affirm "if there is any reasonable view of the evidence to
support" the ruling. United States v. Tellez, 11 F.3d 530, 532
(5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 114 S.Ct. 1630 (1994).
We will accept the district court's factual findings unless they
are clearly erroneous, but its legal conclusions are subject to
plenary review. Id.
A border patrol agent conducting a roving patrol in a border
area may make a temporary, investigative stop of a vehicle if
specific, articulable facts warrant a reasonable suspicion that the
occupant of the vehicle is engaged in illegal activities. United
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States v. Casteneda, 951 F.2d 44, 46-47 (5th Cir. 1992). In
assessing the evidence, we examine the totality of the
circumstances as understood by those versed in the field of law
enforcement, seeking grounds for reasonable suspicion that the
individual being stopped was engaged in wrongdoing. United States
v. Diaz, 977 F.2d 163, 164-65 (5th Cir. 1992). Factors to be
considered include the characteristics of the area, its proximity
to the border, usual traffic patterns, the agent's previous
experience with criminal traffic, information about recent illegal
border crossings in the area, the characteristics of the vehicle,
and the behavior of the driver. United States v. Brignoni-Ponce,
422 U.S. 873, 884-85 (1975).
After examining the totality of the circumstances surrounding
the stop, and in particular, the concerned citizen's report that
the vehicles were acting in tandem, which was corroborated by the
agents' observations, the experience of the agents with look-out
and load vehicles, and the prevalence of drug trafficking in the
area and its proximity to the border, we conclude that the agents
had reason to suspect that Vargas was engaged in unlawful activity.
Accordingly, the district court did not err in denying the motion
to suppress.
III.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment is
AFFIRMED.
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