United States v. Richards, No. 12-2790 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseRichards was followed from the scene of a controlled drug buy conducted by an undercover officer and surveillance. Although the car did not commit any traffic violations, an officer stopped him, searched the car, and found 10 kilograms of cocaine in a backpack in the trunk. Richard claimed that the car belonged to his cousin, that he thought the backpack contained cash, and that he was the unwitting stooge of California drug dealers. The district judge denied his motion to suppress and his motion to exclude recorded phone calls in which Richard discussed unrelated drug activity; he was convicted of possession with intent to distribute. The Seventh Circuit vacated and remanded, holding that the government improperly relied on the phone calls to argue propensity.
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