Diaz-Castaneda

I. Background

On the morning of August 27, 2004, Deputy Sheriff Brad Helzer ran a computer check of the license plate on a Ford pickup truck that was ahead of him on the highway. The check identified a Soilio Diaz as the vehicle’s registered owner and revealed that Diaz’s license was suspended. Helzer UNITED STATES v. DIAZ-CASTANEDA 8701 decided to stop the vehicle because the driver, consistent with its registered owner, was a middle-aged Hispanic male. As Helzer testified, “[t]he registered owner matched the descrip- tion of the driver of the vehicle. And that was my probable cause.” After stopping the vehicle, Helzer confirmed that Diaz was the driver and arrested him for driving with a suspended license in violation of Or. Rev. Stat. § 811.182.

Helzer also saw a passenger, Diaz-Castaneda, in the vehi- cle. Diaz-Castaneda, Diaz’s brother, is a Mexican citizen who has previously been deported five times from the United States and who was convicted of first-degree manslaughter in 1987. Helzer said “licencia” (Spanish for “license”) to Diaz- Castaneda, who handed over either an Oregon driver’s license or Oregon ID card (Helzer could not remember which) accu-…