United States v. Beltran, No. 12-2990 (7th Cir. 2014)
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DEA task force members went to Beltran’s two-unit residence. Ramirez came to the front porch. He did not speak English well but had the building owner (Beltran) on the phone; he gave the phone to an agent. Beltran indicated that it would take him an hour to get home. Beltran and Ramirez agreed to a search if the officers waited until Beltran arrived. Ramirez remained on the porch with the officers. Ramirez placed several calls (speaking in Spanish). He appeared nervous. Ramirez said that there was no one in the building, but officers heard sounds of human movement. In garbage cans, outside of a fence and marked for Beltran’s building, an officer discovered packaging that looked like it had been used to wrap “bricks” of narcotics. Posted behind the residence, an officer saw Beltran emerge through the back door, stopped and frisked him, felt something in Beltran’s pocket, and confirmed that it was substantial cash. Beltran withdrew his consent for a search. A Spanish-speaking agent obtained Ramirez's consent to search. In the Ramirez apartment they found bins containing more than a million dollars, packaging material like in the garbage cans, nine kilograms of heroin, a loaded gun, and other items consistent with narcotics trafficking. Beltran stated that he would cooperate and agreed to a search, which produced a shotgun, scales, a heat sealer, drug-cutting agents, packaging material, and baggies. A drug-sniffing dog alerted to the baggies. A dryer on the second floor landing contained another large stash of money and three kilograms of cocaine. Beltran claimed that his consent was the product of coercion, as he was handcuffed. The district court denied his motion to suppress. He was convicted of possessing and conspiring to possess, with the intent to distribute, 500 grams or more of cocaine and one kilogram or more of heroin, 26 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 846 and sentenced to 168 months in prison. The Seventh Circuit affirmed.
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