United States v. Eddie Leroy Anderson

Eddie Leroy Anderson appeals his conviction for possession of heroin, with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1). He contends that the evidence should have been suppressed as the product of an illegal search. We reject this contention, and affirm.

On February 21 and 22, 1973, an agent of the United States Customs Service learned from two informants that a man named Tutwiler was en route to the area near Calexico, California, to purchase heroin. Soon afterward, one of these informants told the agent that Tutwiler had purchased five ounces of heroin in Mexicali and that the heroin would be delivered in Calexico or Brawley.

Early in the morning of February 23, Tutwiler, Anderson, and two other men entered the United States from Mexico at the Calexico port of entry. After a cursory search produced nothing, the men and the vehicle were permitted to leave the border station but they were followed by customs agents. The car was driven 25 miles north to Brawley, where it stopped near various bars, a service station, a motel, and then a cafe. Shortly before noon, the four men left Brawley driving south. Two miles south of town, they turned around and…