United States v. Perla Perez

MEMORANDUM

Perla Yesenia Perez appeals from the district court’s denial of her motion to suppress the cocaine U.S. Border Patrol agents seized from her vehicle following a traffic stop. Perez contends that the district court erred when it concluded that the agents sufficiently demonstrated they had a reasonable suspicion to initiate a traffic stop of Perez’s vehicle. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Border Patrol agents may conduct “brief investigatory stops” without violating the Fourth Amendment “if the officer’s action is supported by reasonable suspicion to believe that criminal activity may be afoot.” United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273 , 122 S.Ct. 744 , 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002) (internal quotation marks omitted). “Reasonable suspicion is defined as ‘a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity.’ ” United States v. Cotterman, 709 F.3d 952, 968 (9th Cir.2013) (en banc) (quoting United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-18 , 101 S.Ct. 690 , 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981)). When reviewing whether the agents satisfied this threshold, we view the “totality of the circumstances” surrounding the…