United States v. Pedro Piedra, No. 05-2442 (8th Cir. 2006)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Criminal case - criminal law. Officers had reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, and the investigative stop of defendant's vehicle was lawful.
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United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT ___________ No. 05-2442 ___________ United States of America, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. Pedro Piedra, Defendant - Appellant. * * * * Appeal from the United States * District Court for the * Northern District of Iowa. * * [UNPUBLISHED] * ___________ Submitted: December 12, 2005 Filed: March 13, 2006 ___________ Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, WOLLMAN and RILEY, Circuit Judges. ___________ LOKEN, Chief Judge. Acting at the request of Tri-State Drug Task Force Officer Shawn Jensen, Police officer Chris Treadway stopped a Ford Bronco with Iowa license plates in South Sioux City, Nebraska. The driver, Pedro Piedra, was arrested for driving without a license. A search of the vehicle incident to the arrest uncovered 113.3 grams of methamphetamine. After the district court1 denied Piedra s motion to 1 The Honorable Mark W. Bennett, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, adopting the Report and Recommendation of the Honorable Paul A. Zoss, United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Iowa. suppress the methamphetamine, he entered a conditional plea of guilty to possession with intent to distribute fifty or more grams of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a public playground. See 21 U.S.C. ยงยง 841(b)(1)(B)(viii), 860(a). Piedra appeals his conviction, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress because the police lacked reasonable suspicion to stop the Bronco and therefore Piedra s arrest and the search incident to that arrest violated the Fourth Amendment. Reviewing the district court s ultimate conclusion de novo, we agree that the controlled drug purchase in progress on the evening Piedra s vehicle was stopped, together with Officer Jensen observing Piedra enter and leave a nearby residence where a controlled drug purchase was made eleven days earlier, gave the officers reasonable suspicion to make an investigative stop of Piedra s vehicle. See United States v. Bustos-Torres, 396 F.3d 935, 942-43 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 125 S. Ct. 2557 (2005); United States v. Jacobsen, 391 F.3d 904, 905 (8th Cir. 2004). Accordingly, we affirm for the reasons stated in the district court s thorough opinions. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________ -2-
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