Opinion ID: 710261
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Denial of Boyle's suppression motion

Text: 79 The district court ruled that the items seized during the search of Boyle's Suburban were admissible because, inter alia, the police had probable cause to believe that the vehicle contained contraband. See United States v. Crabb, 952 F.2d 1245, 1246 (10th Cir.1991) (given probable cause to believe that the vehicle contains contraband, the Constitution does not require law enforcement agents to obtain a warrant before searching the vehicle), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 925, 112 S.Ct. 1981, 118 L.Ed.2d 579 (1992). After reviewing the record and the district court's findings, we agree. 13 80 Prior to stopping the Suburban, the police obtained information from Carla Wacker, the government's confidential informant, indicating that the vehicle was being used to transport processed marijuana from the drug operation for distribution in New York, and that the occupants (identified as Van Pelt, Boyle and Cooley) were each carrying large amounts of cash from drug transactions. Carla Wacker also informed police that the vehicle was parked at a campsite in the area, and that Van Pelt, Boyle and Cooley were camping in the area temporarily while harvesting marijuana on the Wacker farm. Based on this information, the police conducted aerial surveillance of the Wacker farm. On September 16, 1990, surveillance agents observed the Suburban going into the Down Yonder area of the farm. The agents subsequently searched the area where the vehicle had been and found six plastic trash bags containing processed marijuana. Because the police surveillance largely corroborated the information provided by Carla Wacker, we agree that the agents had probable cause to believe the vehicle was being used to transport marijuana and that the vehicle likely contained drugs, weapons, or other instrumentalities of crime. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 237-38, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2331-32, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983) (information provided by police informant may provide probable cause to search, particularly when supplemented by independent police investigation). Because they possessed probable cause, the police were not required to obtain a warrant before searching the vehicle. United States v. Arzaga, 9 F.3d 91, 94 (10th Cir.1993).