United States v. Contreras, No. 15-1279 (7th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDEA and Chicago Police officers observed Soto at the residence of a major drug supplier. They followed Soto as he entered his car with large garbage bags, which he discarded in a dumpster. Officers recovered the bags; they contained clear plastic tape, latex gloves, coffee grounds and aluminum foil molded into a brick-shape the size of a kilogram of cocaine. A canine alerted to the presence of narcotics and laboratory testing revealed the presence of cocaine. Officers had never heard of Contreras until they followed Soto to his house. An officer testified that after Soto went inside, the garage door opened and that, using binoculars, the officer saw the men touch hands in what he thought indicated the passing of money or drugs. A box removed from Conteras' Mercedes buckled and a rectangular, white, plastic-wrapped object fell out. Later, officers determined that the shoebox contained five wrapped bricks of cocaine. The officers moved in and read Contreras his Miranda rights; he signed a consent to search in both English and Spanish. Contreras expressed willingness to cooperate and admitted that he had been selling drugs with Soto for about one year. Contreras provided the combination to a bedroom safe that contained $99,153 in cash, two guns and ammunition. He told officers where to find 2.5 kilograms of cocaine. The Seventh Circuit affirmed denial of a motion to suppress, rejecting an argument that the initial entry and protective sweep were illegal and that Contreras’ consent was tainted by the illegal acts.
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