United States v. William Arias, United States of America v. Erwin Gonzalez

Defendants-appellants Arias and Gonzalez appeal the district court’s order denying their motions to suppress evidence obtained from searches of a Chrysler automobile and a house. Arias also appeals the portion of the district court’s order holding that there was probable cause for law enforcement officers to arrest him. We affirm.

I

In early 1987, in the course of a money laundering investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received information from a confidential informant that Fernando Andrade was involved in cocaine trafficking. On February 7, 1989, the informant received a telephone call from Fernando telling him that Fernando and his brother Gabriel would be coming to Los Angeles the next day to sell the informant 20 kilos of cocaine. After meeting the brothers at the Orange County Airport, Fernando told the informant that the cocaine would be available the following day, and asked the informant to provide him and his brother with a “load” car that would be used to load, transport and deliver the drugs.

The next morning, the informant drove to the brothers’ hotel and gave them the “load” car, which had been furnished by law enforcement authorities. After…