United States v. Cervantes, No. 14-50208 (5th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDefendant conditionally pled guilty to aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute marijuana. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence, alleging that he was stopped without reasonable suspicion in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In this case, a Border Patrol agent testified, among other things, that defendant's vehicle appeared to be sagging in the rear, and in his experience, that is indicative of narcotics smuggling because smuggling vehicles usually have multiple occupants. The agent further stated that defendant's type of driving behavior was consistent with other smuggling loads he had seen, and defendant's lack of eye contact indicated to him that the occupants of the vehicle wanted to shield themselves from the agents. The court concluded that the traffic stop did not violate the Fourth Amendment where, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, and considering the totality of the circumstances, the agents had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant.
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