Opinion ID: 760106
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Reasonableness of the Stop

Text: 23 We review the reasonableness of Agent Nickles suspicion under a de novo standard of review. In determining reasonable suspicion, the court must consider the totality of the circumstances--the whole picture, United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 418, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981), and in so doing, must accord due deference to a law enforcement officer's ability to recognize suspicious behavior. Wood, 106 F.3d at 946. 24 For example, in United States v. Barron-Cabrera, 119 F.3d 1454, 1462 (10th Cir.1997), the defendant drove a Ryder truck, unaccompanied by another vehicle driving in tow or in tandem, on a road rarely used for household moves. The road was reasonably near the Mexican border, and a known smuggling corridor upon which four vehicles carrying thirty-two aliens had been apprehended that month. Id. When the driver saw the Border Patrol vehicle, he became noticeably agitated and then started driving stiffly. Id. His speed dropped to ten miles an hour below the speed limit, and he drove over the center and shoulder lines. Id. These factors in the aggregate created a suspicious portrait, particularly given deference to the law enforcement agent's judgment. The driver's noticeable agitation and subsequent stiffness is relevant behavior where the driver recognized he was being followed by a marked Border Patrol vehicle. 25 In the present case, we assess the impact of the factors in the aggregate, under the totality of the circumstances, incorporating the underlying factual findings of the district court. Agent Nickles saw a large, old vehicle, the kind a drug or illegal alien smuggler might use, driving in an area known for drug and alien smuggling. It was morning, a usual time for traffic. The vehicle was not heavily loaded, had no passengers, and did not swerve on the road. Agent Nickles drove an unmarked jeep which the driver did not recognize as a border patrol vehicle. The driver did not make eye contact as he drove by Agent Nickles. As Agent Nickles drove along side the car, the driver took Exit 79 off the interstate. Exit 79 was so sharp, Agent Nickles missed it. The driver parked in the front of the nearest gas station off the exit, and remained there while Agent Nickles circled around to catch up with the driver. While Agent Nickles observed from afar, the driver looked around, looked in the hood and trunk, and re-entered the highway going in the same direction. The car was legally registered to someone in the border town of Columbus, and the car had legally crossed the border at Colombus three times in three days. 26 We conclude in reviewing the aggregate facts, based on the extensive findings of the district court, that the mantra 'totality of the circumstances' cannot metamorphose these facts into reasonable suspicion. Wood, 106 F.3d at 948. The district court determined, and we decline to redraw the inference, that Mr. De la Cruz-Tapia did not know Agent Nickles was a border patrol agent. Accordingly, the three factors that support the agent's conclusion that Mr. De la Cruz-Tapia was evading him, the lack of eye contact, the abrupt exit, and the gas station activity, become  'so innocent or susceptible to varying interpretations as to be innocuous.'  Id. at 946 (quoting Lee, 73 F.3d at 1039). Under the totality of the circumstances, we hold the remaining factors in the aggregate do not amount to a reasonable suspicion to stop Mr. De la Cruz-Tapia. 27 We AFFIRM the order of the district court granting the motion to suppress the evidence.