United States v. Rigoberto Torres-Rios

Torres-Rios appeals his conviction of possession with intent to distribute 435 pounds of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1). We affirm.

In the early morning of August 1,1972, a Border Patrol agent was parked at the intersection of Interstate Highway 8 and Highway S-l in Southern California with his headlights shining across 1-8. He observed a car travelling west whose only occupant, Torres-Rios, appeared to be of Mexican descent. The agent stopped the car and questioned Torres-Rios about his citizenship. He replied that he was a Mexican citizen illegally in the United States. The agent asked Torres-Rios to open the trunk so that he could look for other illegal aliens. Torres-Rios complied and the agent found the 435 pounds of marijuana.

By Memorandum decision filed May 31, 1974, we reversed Torres-Rios’ conviction. We held that the stop and search were invalid under Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266 , 93 S.Ct. 2535 , 37 L.Ed.2d 596 (1973), and that its rule was applicable to this pre-Almeida-Sanchez case pursuant to our decision in United States v. Peltier, 500 F.2d 985 (9th Cir. 1974) (en banc). However, the Supreme Court reversed our…