UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

SOUTHERN DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff,

Case No. 08-CR-20504

vs.

HON. GEORGE CARAM STEEH

JOSEPH A. BENNETT,

Defendant.

_____________________________/

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO SUPPRESS [DOC. 16]

Defendant Joseph Bennett has moved the Court to suppress evidence derived

from a border stop, search, and interrogation which took place at the Blue Water Bridge

at Port Huron, Michigan on August 8, 2008. Mr. Bennett, a Canadian citizen, was

driving a commercial truck when he was stopped by U.S. Customs officers. The

Customs Officers received a positive match for Mr. Bennett using the Treasury

Enforcement Communications System (“TECS”), a computerized database. TECS

indicated that Mr. Bennett might be involved in smuggling Ecstacy, so he was directed

to a secondary examination. 

Mr. Bennett’s truck was run through a mobile BCIS unit, which scans the cargo

area, looking for compartments which could be used to hide drugs. The scan of the

cargo area was negative. Next, Customs Officers conducted a physical examination

inside the cab of the truck and saw “worn screws” in the center dash area, and “pry

marks” on the plastic center of the dash. A canine officer and a dog searched the cab

with negative results. A Custom Officer then removed the center portion of the dash,

finding a vacuum sealed bag containing pills, which turned out to be Ecstasy. 

Further searching of the cab uncovered more vacuum sealed packages of pills. 

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Outside the cab, in storage containers, Customs Officers discovered two gym bags

containing heat sealed bags of pills. Finally, two additional gym bags full of pills were

discovered within the cab of the truck. In total, 88.14 kilograms of ecstacy was found in

Mr. Bennett’s truck.

Mr. Bennett was first stopped at 8:42 p.m., and the search of his truck was

concluded at 12:40 a.m. The pills tested positively as Ecstacy at 1:00 a.m. At 1:35

a.m., ICE agents interviewed Mr. Bennett. Mr. Bennett argues that the search was an

extended border search, or a nonroutine search, and therefore required reasonable

suspicion, which was lacking in his case. Mr. Bennett further argues that even if the

initial stop was justified by the TECS report, further investigation by the officers negated

reasonable suspicion.

The Supreme Court has held that the expectation of privacy is less at our

country’s borders, than it is in the interior. United States v. Montoya de Hernandez, 473

U.S. 531, 538 (1985). The Court has held that government officers have complete

authority to conduct warrantless routine searches at the border without probable cause

or reasonable suspicion. United States v. Flores-Montano, 541 U.S. 149, 154-55

(2004). 

Mr. Bennett’s reference to an “extended border search” is inapplicable to this

case. That term was used in reference to a search of an airport passenger after he

successfully passed through Customs and was later stopped in another airport terminal. 

United States v. Yang, 286 F.3d 940, 949 (7th Cir. 2002). Mr. Bennett was in a

secondary screening area at the border, and this does not constitute an extended

border search.

Mr. Bennett also refers to a nonroutine search, citing United States v. Whitted,

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541 F.3d 480, 487 (3rd Cir. 2008). That case, however, involved the search of private

living quarters on a cruise ship, which is treated more like a residence. The Court

recognizes a greater expectation of privacy in living quarters than it does in the cab of a

commercial truck. 

In this case a review of the testimony of Special Agent Julie Harris supports the

search of Mr. Bennett’s truck, and the subsequent interrogation of Mr. Bennett. 

Defendant’s motion to suppress is DENIED.

So ordered.

Dated: February 10, 2009

S/George Caram Steeh 

GEORGE CARAM STEEH

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

Copies of this Order were served upon attorneys of record on

February 10, 2009, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.

s/Josephine Chaffee

Deputy Clerk

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