Sauceda-Avalos
United States v. Sauceda-Avalos
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
A jury convicted Efrain Sauceda-Avalos (“Sauceda”) of being a deported alien found in the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . The district court sentenced Sauceda to 70 months in custody followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Sauceda appeals his conviction and sentence. We affirm.
I.
The government presented sufficient foundational evidence to establish that Sauceda filed the birth certificate and translation with his previous application for temporary status. Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the birth certificate and translation as adoptive admissions, see Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2), and by determining that any risk of prejudice did not substantially outweigh the documents’ probative value, see Fed. R. Evid. 403.
II.
Sauceda’s field statements were admissible. The Border Patrol agents had reasonable suspicion to detain the suspects and the agents only inquired as to the suspects’ citizenship and immigration status. Therefore, the detention constituted a lawful Terry stop rather than a custodial interrogation, rendering Miranda warnings unnecessary. United States v. Cer vantes-Flores, 421 F.3d 825, 829-30…