United States v. William Gordon Winsett

Winsett appeals from the district court’s revocation of his probation. We affirm.

Facts

On August 14, 1973, Winsett received a suspended three year prison sentence and was placed on probation for four years for conspiring to import marijuana without paying the special tax, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7237 (a). A condition of probation was that appellant not leave the judicial district (the Eastern District of California) without permission of his probation officer.

Approximately four months after sentencing, United States Border Patrol agents, unaware that appellant was a probationer, stopped him at a checkpoint in the Southern District of California, just south of Temecula. After discovering over 100 pounds of marijuana in his car, the agents arrested appellant and seized the evidence. He was charged in state court with unlawful possession of the controlled substance, but on June 12, 1974, the state court ruled that the marijuana was inadmissible on the authority of Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266 , 93 S.Ct. 2535 , 37 L.Ed.2d 596 (1973) and United States v. Bowen, 500 F.2d 960 (9th Cir.) (en banc) aff’d, - U.S. -, 95 S.Ct. 2569 , 45 L.Ed.2d 641 (1975),…