Baltazar-Murrieta

MEMORANDUM **

Jose Luis Baltazar-Murietta was arrested when he drove a maroon 1988 Buick Regal concealing packages of marijuana across the Calexico, California Port of Entry on October 20, 2000. A jury convicted him of importing and possessing 39.82 kilograms of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 , 960 and 841(a)(1). We reverse the district court’s denial of Baltazar-Murietta’s motion to suppress and remand for an evidentiary hearing.

We hold that the district court erred in denying Baltazar-Murietta’s motion to suppress the 12 packages of marijuana found between the metal and plastic panels of his car, because the search of the car may have constituted a nonroutine border search requiring reasonable suspicion. Although a routine border search, including an inspection of the passenger compartment of a car, does not require any level of suspicion, “in order to conduct a search that goes beyond the routine, an inspector *479 must have a reasonable suspicion that the person to be searched may be carrying contraband.” United States v. Molinar-Tarazon, 279 F.3d 709, 712 (9th Cir.2002).

It is unclear whether the search of Baltazar-Murietta’s car was routine or nonroutine. On…