United States v. Julio Valenzuela-Espinoza

Julio Alfonso Valenzuela-Espinoza appeals his conviction for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846. Because the delay in presenting Valenzuela-Espinoza to a magistrate was unreasonable, his statements made more than six hours after his arrest must be suppressed under the rule announced in both McNabb v. United States, 318 U.S. 332 , 63 S.Ct. 608 , 87 L.Ed. 819 (1943), and Mallory v. United States, 354 U.S. 449 , 77 S.Ct. 1356 , 1 L.Ed.2d 1479 (1957). We therefore REVERSE the district court’s denial of Valenzuela-Espinoza’s suppression motion, VACATE the conviction, and REMAND for further proceedings. Because his conviction must be vacated due to the McNabb-Mallory violation, we do not address Valenzuela-Espinoza’s other challenges to his conviction raised on appeal.

I.

Valenzuela-Espinoza was arrested on March 5, 2008, at a house in Tucson, Arizona. On March 3, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent Leon Van Holsbeke received a tip from a confidential informant of “suspicious activity” taking place at the house. After intermittently observing the…