United States v. Guadalupe Avalos-Ochoa

I.

Statement of the Case.

Guadalupe Avalos-Ochoa appeals his conviction for six violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(1) and (2), smuggling and transporting of illegal aliens. He was found guilty by a court trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California after an evidentiary hearing where a motion to suppress evidence was denied. Appellant was sentenced to the custody of the Attorney General for a period of four years on each count, the sentences to run concurrently.

II.

The Facts.

Following a sensor readout at midnight indicating border crossing activity, Agent Hungate of the United States Border Patrol set up surveillance of an area one mile north of the Mexican border in Imperial Beach, California. The area south of the officer’s position included mountainous terrain, unkept agricultural fields, and some heavily irrigated fields. The area to the north was residential. Hungate, an agent with the Border Patrol for over two years, testified that he had made approximately two hundred alien apprehensions in the immediate area.

At about 3:15 a. m., Hungate saw six or seven people cross the street three blocks…