Federal Circuits, 10th Cir. (May 02, 1991)
Docket number: 90-2134
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Before BRORBY and McWILLIAMS, Circuit Judges, and SPARR, District Judge.*
ORDER AND JUDGMENT**DANIEL B. SPARR, District Judge.After examining the briefs and appellate record, and in accordance with the parties' request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this appeal. See, Fed.R.App.P. 34(a); 10th Cir.R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.Defendant Hector Morales, Jr., entered a conditional plea of guilty pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2) to a violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec . 841(a)(1), reserving his right to appeal the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress. Morales appeals the trial court's order denying his motion to suppress all evidence seized from his automobile. We affirm.I.Morales was a passenger in his Mazda RX-7 when he was stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 10 west of Las Cruces, New Mexico. When the Border Patrol agent leaned into the car to question the two occupants about their citizenship, he smelled a heavy odor of air freshener and saw several indications that the occupants had been drinking. The agent obtained consent from Morales to search the vehicle and the search was conducted in the secondary inspection area.Upon searching the vehicle, the agent continued to smell a "real strong" odor of air freshener, as well as a "slight odor of marijuana." Another Border Patrol agent obtained consent from Morales for a canine sniff search. The dog "alerted on the vehicle," whereupon Morales and the driver, Hernandez, were detained in the Border Patrol trailer while the agents searched the Mazda further. The agents noted fresh weld marks on the rear inside area behind the front seats. The agents did not find anything in the car and any further searching would have required tearing out the carpet or otherwise dismantling or damaging the vehicle. The agents released Morales and Hernandez and let them leave the checkpoint.As soon as the agents walked back into the trailer, they found a clear, plastic baggie of white powdery substance on the bench where Morales and Hernandez had been sitting. The substance field tested positive for cocaine. Morales, Hernandez, and a Border Patrol agent were the only people who had been on that bench that day.The agents then pursued Morales and Hernandez, stopping them approximately seventeen miles past the checkpoint. The agents arrested Morales and Hernandez and held them in the back of the Border Patrol sedan. The agents proceeded to search the area of the Mazda where the fresh welding had previously been noted. This time the agents did pull up the carpet behind the front seats and found a compartment containing several packages of a controlled substance.II.When reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress, an appellate court must accept the trial court's findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous and must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party. United States v. Henning, 906 F.2d 1392, 1395 (10th Cir.1990); United States v. Benitez, 899 F.2d 995, 997 (10th Cir.1990); United States v. Jimenez, 864 F.2d 686, 688 (10th Cir.1988).Morales argues on appeal that there was no probable cause for the second stop, arrest, and search of his vehicle. He argues that the fruitless initial search at the checkpoint extinguished the agents' original probable cause, that the second search must be based on "fresh" probable cause, and that no such "fresh" probable cause existed. Morales does not contest the agents' probable cause for the first search at the Border Patrol checkpoint.Morales cites United States v. Kandlis, 432 F.2d 132 (9th Cir.1970) and United States v. Portillo, 469 F.2d 907 (9th Cir.1972) as authority for the proposition that the agents' initial probable cause was extinguished by the fruitless first search and that new probable cause must be established for the second stop, arrest, and search. The court does not read these two cases to support Appellant's theory for extinguishing initial probable cause and requiring new probable cause.Probable cause exists where the facts and circumstances within the officers' knowledge, and of which they have reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that an offense has been or is being committed. United States v. Maher, 919 F.2d 1482, 1485 (10th Cir.1990). We recognize that probable cause must be evaluated in light of the circumstances as they would have appeared to a prudent, cautious, trained police officer. Maher, 919 F.2d at 1485, citing United States v. Lopez, 777 F.2d 543, 551 (10th Cir.1985) and United States v. McCormick, 468 F.2d 68, 73 (10th Cir.1972), cert. denied,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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