Florentino Encinas-Sierras v. United States

In this appeal no question is presented regarding the jurisdiction of the district court or this court. The appellant, hereinafter referred to as the defendant, was convicted in the district court of the crime of unlawfully importing into the United States, from Mexico, 53.9 grams of heroin, a narcotic drug, in violation of- § 174 of Title 21, United States Code. The defendant has appealed to this court, asserting that errors were committed in his trial.

On November 15, 1967, the defendant, driving an International pick-up truck arrived at the Morley Avenue Gate, the smaller of the two gates at the port-of-entry from Mexico into the United States at Nogales, Arizona. United States Customs Inspector Fellars and United-States Customs Port Investigator Turner saw the defendant in the truck. Turner caused the truck to stop, and took the defendant into the Customs building where he left him in Fellars’ charge. Turner went out to move the truck to a location where it would not interfere with traffic, and to search it. He found nothing relevant in the truck. In the meantime, Fellars had frisked the defendant, and had had him empty his pockets. Upon Turner’s return to the building, he…