Ponce

MEMORANDUM **

The district court did not err in denying Ponce’s motion to suppress because the search of the motel room was justified by exigent circumstances. See Murdock v. Stout, 54 F.3d 1437, 1441 (9th Cir.1995), abrogated on other grounds by United States v. Ramirez, 523 U.S. 65, 69-70 , 118 S.Ct. 992 , 140 L.Ed.2d 191 (1998); United States v. Gooch, 6 F.3d 673, 679 (9th Cir.1993). Exigent circumstances are *905 present when an officer believes victims may be detained against their will or could be injured. See United States v. Black, 482 F.3d 1035, 1039-40 (9th Cir.2007) (as amended). At the time of their entry into the motel room, the officers had reason to believe that at least one alien was being held against his will in the room. The officers knew that Ponce was attempting to extort a higher smuggling fee in exchange for the release of an alien, and they also knew of the potential for violence if the smuggling fee were not paid. The occupants of the motel room did not respond to the officers’ phone call, and a man who had recently exited the motel room appeared to be guarding the door. These factors raised the inference that a victim might be within the motel room. See…