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Parties Involved:
David Montelongo-Ayala
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

FlLL.U 

Unitm States Court of Appal, UNITED STATES COURT OF AP1>8M,STenth Circuit 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

v. 

DAVID MONTELONGO-AYALA, 

Defendant-Appellant, 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

DECO 9 1992 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

No. 92-2106 

(D.C. No. 92-4601-JB) 

(D. New Mexico) 

Before LOGAN, MOORE and BRORBY, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this 

three-judge panel has determined unanimously that oral argument 

would not be of material assistance in the determination of this 

appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The 

cause is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. 

Mr. Montelongo-Ayala was charged with two counts of 

unlawfully transporting illegal aliens in violation of 8 U.S.C. 

§ 1324(a) (1) (B). Mr. Montelongo-Ayala filed a motion to suppress 

which was denied following an evidentiary hearing. Mr. 

Montelongo-Ayala then entered conditional pleas of guilty to both 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall 

not be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, 

except for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of 

the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 

36.3. 

Appellate Case: 92-2106 Document: 010110151510 Date Filed: 12/09/1992 Page: 1 
charges and was sentenced to two concurrent terms of 119 days 

imprisonment on May 18, 1992. Mr. Montelongo-Ayala appeals the 

district court's denial of his motion to suppress. We affirm. 

An evidentiary hearing was held on the motion to suppress and 

the United States called three witnesses. The district court, 

having heard the evidence, made the following findings: 

Officer Clinton received information that there was 

an abandoned van south of I-10, and he was advised 

through a telephone call. 

He was also advised that there were eight to nine 

people walking west from the van on a dirt road. He 

proceeded to the ... van. 

That the van, according to Government's Exhibit 2 

appears to be in the vicinity of Mesilla Dam Road and 

the Corralitos Road, the Corralitos Road being the road 

that leads into the McKenna Ranch. 

Officer Clinton describes the terrain as being 

flat, desert type country with some hills. He indicated 

that the ranch road comes about -- comes around to Exit 

116, which is about two to three miles south of I-10, 

and about four to five miles from the permanent 

checkpoint which is located at Mile-Marker 1201⁄2. 

He noted various sets of tracks around the van, and 

he noticed that some tracks proceeded west from the van. 

That at that time he was advised by other agents by 

radio that they had also had signs of tracks at the 

vicinity of the Pole Line Road and New Mexico 549. 

That he proceeded from the van directly to that 

point and then he observed two sets of tracks heading 

toward I-10, and he followed the tracks from that point, 

and he observed that there was one set that appeared to 

be male and one female. 

He followed the trail and he 

which followed the road to the Big 

again found signs. He cut signs at 

at the 549 overpass. 

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went to 116 Exit, 

Chief Quarry, and he 

the railroad track 

Appellate Case: 92-2106 Document: 010110151510 Date Filed: 12/09/1992 Page: 2 
He then observed a rancher that was flagging him 

down, and he reported that he had seen several people at 

the railroad overpass on I-10. 

Agent Clinton continued cutting signs leading to 

the overpass when he observed two people walking 

approximately one-third of a mile from him, and he 

reports that at that point the railroad tracks are about 

at the railroad tracks and he also observed at that 

point that the railroad track which is in the area also 

pass within approximately thirty feet from the van which 

had been abandoned. 

Upon approaching the defendants, Agent Clinton 

motioned them over, and they came to the van. He first 

spoke to them in English and then in Spanish and asked 

them if they were -- where they were born and there was 

no response, and finally he asked them if they were in 

the country -- if they had documentation. 

There was no response, and finally he asked them if 

they were in the country illegally, then they admitted 

that they were not in the country legally. 

At that point he took them into custody. Up to 

this point, that was appropriate procedure on the part 

of Officer Clinton under the Tenth Circuit authority as 

well as the Supreme Court. 

This is appropriate Terry stop. Indeed, I find 

that under the laws of the Tenth Circuit, that the 

Government does not even have to satisfy Terry, since 

this is approximately thirty miles from the border, and 

under the Supreme Court decisions as well as the Tenth 

Circuit, the agents need not have any probable cause to 

determine citizenship status in the proximity of any 

checkpoint in the proximity of the border. 

But nonetheless, even under the Terry analysis, 

this was -- this qualified as an investigatory stop to 

determine the citizenships of these two individuals, 

which is appropriate and proper and legal. 

He returned to the railroad 

in the vicinity of the railroad 

found the larger group of tracks 

desert, and subsequently they 

people. 

-- the footprints found 

and he back-tracked and 

heading south into the 

apprehended some more 

Mr. Montelongo-Ayala concedes the facts and circumstances 

articulated by Agent Clinton would be sufficient under United 

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Appellate Case: 92-2106 Document: 010110151510 Date Filed: 12/09/1992 Page: 3 
States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 884-85 (1975), but 

distinguishes this case arguing it is not applicable because Mr. 

Montelongo-Ayala was not found among a group of people walking 

along a desert trail, but rather was found walking along an 

interstate highway miles from where the van was abandoned and 

miles from where the group of people were seen. 

Mr. Montelongo-Ayala focuses only upon the actual stop and 

disregards the information obtained by the Border Patrol Agent 

prior thereto. The specific facts relied upon by the Border 

Patrol Agent include the older model van bearing Colorado tags 

with no seats except in the front (the agent encountered similar 

vans used to smuggle illegal aliens on a bi-weekly basis); he 

followed the footprints leading from the van, some of which were 

made by women; the Pole Line road was often used by smugglers to 

circumvent the checkpoint as it has telephone poles which are 

easily visible and provides a route in the correct direction; the 

Agent had been involved with this route in fifteen prior alien 

smuggling cases; and the railroad overpass was known to the Agent 

to be a meeting place for aliens bypassing the checkpoint. 

The Border Patrol Agent had specific articulable facts that 

would warrant a reasonable suspicion to stop Mr. Montelongo-Ayala 

and ask about his citizenship. See United States v. Leyba, 627 

F.2d 1059, 1062-63 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 987 (1980), 

and Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. at 884-85. 

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Appellate Case: 92-2106 Document: 010110151510 Date Filed: 12/09/1992 Page: 4 
The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. The mandate 

shall issue forthwith. 

Entered for the Court: 

WADE BRORBY 

United States Circuit Judge 

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