P. v. Lopez CA4/2
A jury convicted Jose Luis Lopez of transporting for sale more than 10 kilograms each of heroin and methamphetamine based on evidence U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents (border patrol) acquired incident to a stop on Interstate 10 near the California-Arizona border. Lopez sought to exclude the evidence, arguing the agents did not have reasonable suspicion he was engaged in criminal activity when they stopped him.
One of the agents explained they decided to stop Lopez because he was alone, driving an older-model minivan in a “highly used” smuggling corridor, appeared to push himself back behind the door frame when he first passed the agents, changed lanes as they approached from behind in the fast lane, did not look at the agents as they drew alongside him, drove at 50 miles per hour in a 70 mile-per-hour zone, and had recently crossed the United States-Mexico border. The trial court held the stop was justified, and Lopez appeals.
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