United States v. Vera Olivarria , 495 F. App'x 512 ( 2012 )


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  •      Case: 11-60733     Document: 00512035366         Page: 1     Date Filed: 10/29/2012
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT  United States Court of Appeals
    Fifth Circuit
    FILED
    October 29, 2012
    No. 11-60733
    Summary Calendar                        Lyle W. Cayce
    Clerk
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee
    v.
    VERA JESEUS MATEO OLIVARRIA, also known as Gonzalo Villela,
    Defendant-Appellant
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Northern District of Mississippi
    USDC No. 3:10-CR-100-1
    Before REAVLEY, DAVIS and OWEN, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:*
    Vera Jeseus Mateo Olivarria appeals his conditional guilty plea conviction
    for possession with intent to distribute in excess of 50 grams of a mixture and
    substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, for which he
    was sentenced to 87 months in prison. Olivarria argues that the district court
    erred in failing to suppress the methamphetamine derived from the warrantless
    search of his vehicle. Specifically, he avers that the district court erred in
    concluding that (1) the officers had reasonable suspicion to effect the traffic stop,
    *
    Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
    be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
    R. 47.5.4.
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    No. 11-60733
    (2) sufficient evidence existed to support his continued detention, and (3) he
    consented to the search of his vehicle.
    The evidence adduced at the suppression hearing showed that Mississippi
    Bureau of Narcotics (MBN) agents received information from a confidential
    informant (CI) that Olivarria was selling quantities of methamphetamine. The
    CI told agents that he bought methamphetamine from Olivarria on several
    occasions, and he provided them with directions to a house on Bankhead Street
    in New Albany, Mississippi, where one transaction occurred. The CI also stated
    that Olivarria drove a red or maroon four-door sedan.
    The CI, at the instruction of the agents, called Olivarria and arranged a
    meeting for the purpose of purchasing methamphetamine. On the day of the
    meeting, agents set up surveillance at the Bankhead house. Parked in the
    driveway was the red four-door sedan and a Ford Expedition.              Agents
    subsequently observed Olivarria and another Hispanic male get into the
    Expedition and leave in the direction of the meeting site.
    After seeing that the driver of the Expedition was not wearing a seat belt,
    agents effected a traffic stop. Olivarria thereafter provided agents with a false
    name and identification card. A review of the call history on Olivarria’s cell
    phone revealed telephone calls from the CI. After advising Olivarria that the
    person with whom he had been talking was cooperating with the MBN,
    Olivarria’s demeanor changed, and he almost fainted. Olivarria was
    subsequently transported back to the Bankhead house. There, the agents
    conducted a search of the red vehicle and discovered methamphetamine.
    We review factual findings made by a district court on a motion to
    suppress for clear error and the district court’s ultimate conclusions on Fourth
    Amendment issues de novo. United States v. Pack, 
    612 F.3d 341
    , 347 (5th Cir.),
    opinion modified on denial of reh’g, 
    622 F.3d 383
     (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 
    131 S. Ct. 620
     (2010). We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the
    prevailing party – in this case, the Government. See 
    id.
     The clear error
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    No. 11-60733
    standard is particularly strong if denial of a suppression motion is based on in-
    court testimony, because the judge had the opportunity to observe witness
    demeanor. United States v. Santiago, 
    410 F.3d 193
    , 197 (5th Cir. 2005).
    A police stop of a vehicle and the detention of its occupants constitutes a
    seizure under the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Brigham, 
    382 F.3d 500
    ,
    506 (5th Cir. 2004) (en banc). The constitutionality of such detentions, whether
    they are justified by probable cause or reasonable suspicion of a violation, is
    ordinarily analyzed according to the standard set forth in Terry v. Ohio, 
    392 U.S. 1
     (1968). 
    Id.
     First, we examine “whether the officer’s action was justified
    at its inception, and then inquire whether the officer’s subsequent actions were
    reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that justified the stop.” 
    Id.
    (citing Terry, 
    392 U.S. at 19-20
    ).
    In light of the testimony presented at the suppression hearing, the district
    court did not clearly err in finding that the driver of the car in which Olivarria
    was a passenger was not wearing his seat belt, in violation of Mississippi law.
    The observed seat belt violation alone was reason enough to justify the stop of
    the vehicle. See Whren v. United States, 
    517 U.S. 806
    , 817 (1996). We also
    conclude that the district court did not err in finding that additional reasonable
    suspicion arose in the course of the initial stop to justify Olivarria’s continued
    detention, namely, that Olivarria provided a false name and identification card
    to law enforcement, the confirmation that the CI calls arranging the drug buy
    had been placed to Olivarria’s cell phone, and Olivarria’s rapid change in
    demeanor after learning that the CI was working with law enforcement. See
    United States v. Banuelos-Romero, 
    597 F.3d 763
    , 767 (5th Cir. 2010); United
    States v. Crain, 
    33 F.3d 480
    , 485 (5th Cir. 1994). Lastly, the district court did
    not err in concluding that Olivarria voluntarily consented to the search of his
    vehicle. See United States v. Solis, 
    299 F.3d 420
    , 436 (5th Cir. 2002). The
    judgment of the district court is affirmed.
    AFFIRMED.
    3