United States v. Paul A. Groves, Jr.

Appellant was convicted in a court trial of violating 21 U.S.C. § 846 [conspiracy to distribute marihuana], 21 U.S.C. §§ -841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B) [possession of marihuana with intent to distribute], and 18 U.S.C. § 2 [aiding and abetting]. We reverse.

BACKGROUND

Briefly stated, the record and stipulated facts reveal an ongoing investigation of marihuana trafficking between California and Canada by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] from November of 1975 to January of 1976. On January 2,1976, one of the DEA agents received a phone message from a reliable informant stating that a Chevrolet Pickup bearing a California license and a Ford Pickup bearing a British Columbia license were at a certain Bellingham, Washington, residence, a suspected location for unlawful traffic in narcotic drugs. The agent was advised that the occupants of the vehicles, a male and possibly two females, were moving boxes about in the vicinity of the pickups. Some time thereafter, a Washington State Patrol unit observed the Ford Pickup moving northbound on Interstate 5 approximately five miles south of the Canadian Border. After a stop of the vehicle by the state patrol, two special…