Diaz-Villasenor

MEMORANDUM **

*792 Appellant Pedro Diaz-Villasenor (“Diaz-Villasenor”) appeals his conviction for importing marijuana in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960 and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1) on the grounds that: (1) the district court should have held an evidentiary hearing regarding suppression of evidence obtained during a border search; and (2) it improperly admitted evidence of the marijuana allegedly seized from DiazVillasenor’s vehicle because the chain of custody was not properly established. The parties are familiar with the facts such that we need not repeat them. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.

The district court denied Diaz-Villasenor’s motion to suppress evidence obtained during the search of Diaz-Villasenor’s vehicle at the border between the United States and Mexico. Because the district court correctly assumed that the search of Diaz-Villasenor’s vehicle, which involved tampering with the gas tank, was non-routine under United States v. Molina-Tarazon, 279 F.3d 709, 717 (9th Cir. 2002), the government was required to prove that its agents had reasonable suspicion prior to…