Sanchez

Mario Cruz Sanchez appeals a judgment convicting him of possession of a controlled substance (heroin) for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351). After his motion to suppress evidence (Pen. Code, § 1538.5) was denied, he pled guilty. His sole contention is the trial court erred in denying his suppression motion, because the detention, search and seizure of the bindle of heroin by the narcotics officer were illegal. For the reasons which follow, we conclude Sanchez has failed to establish the underlying intent of the Narcotics Task Force (NTF) in pairing the Border Patrol agent with the police officer was to circumvent the protections of the Fourth Amendment, and further their contact with Sanchez simply constituted a consensual encounter not triggering Fourth Amendment scrutiny. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

Factual Background

On July 28, 1986, Roland Richardson was a United States Border Patrol agent assigned to work with the NTF agents in Imperial County and specifically Hector Rios, a Calexico police officer. Richardson was part of a program within which the Border Patrol allocated a position to the NTF to help combat aliens involved in narcotic trafficking in…