United States v. Manuel Rodriguez-Alvarado

Rodriguez-Alvarado appeals from a judgment of conviction for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. In response to his motion to suppress, the district court found that there was the requisite founded suspicion for a stop of the vehicle operated by Rodriguez-Alvarado and sufficient probable cause for a subsequent search. It is this ruling which he challenges on appeal. We affirm.

We stated in Wilson v. Porter, 361 F.2d 412, 415 (9th Cir. 1966):

That is still the law which governs stops like the one in this case. See United States v. Bugarin-Casas, 484 F.2d 853, 854-855 (9th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1136 , 94 S.Ct. 881 , 38 L.Ed.2d 762 (1974); United States v. Barron, 472 F.2d 1215, 1217 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 413 U.S. 920 , 93 S.Ct. 3063 , 37 L.Ed.2d 1041 (1973); United States v. Roberts, 470 F.2d 858, 859 (9th Cir. 1972), cert. denied, 413 U.S. 920 , 93 S.Ct. 3071 , 37 L.Ed.2d 1042 (1973).

Applying that test to the case before us, we note these significant articulable facts:

1. The area in which the Border Patrol agent first saw Rodriguez-Alvarado’s vehicle was one and one-half miles from the Mexican border and has a high incidence of…