Opinion ID: 3171370
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Drug Investigation

Text: On the day of the search and seizure, Spears visited a house located on New York Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas (the “New York House”) that law enforcement officers were monitoring for drug activity. Horacio Loera (“Loera”), a suspected drug dealer, lived at the New York House. An officer testified that a drug investigation into Loera began in February 2013, when officers “seized approximately 250 pounds of marijuana from a business” owned by Loera. Through investigation, officers identified multiple people suspected to be Loera’s customers. Once in May 2013 and once in October 2013, confidential informants purchased drugs from people associated with Loera. Also in May 2013, an undercover officer purchased drugs from a person who had very recently visited the New York House. On January 15, 2014, law enforcement officers asked a confidential informant to order cocaine from a different suspected drug dealer. When the confidential informant placed the order, the suspected drug dealer said he would contact his source. The officers then began conducting surveillance on the suspected drug dealer. The officers observed the suspected drug dealer travel to the New York House and knock on the door, but nobody answered the door. He then told the confidential informant, “I’m not able to get the kilo [of cocaine]. I’m trying—I’ve tried to get a hold of my guy. I can’t get a hold of him. I went by his house. I can’t get anybody to answer.” An officer testified that based on this, the officers concluded that the suspected drug dealer had tried to get cocaine from the New York House. 2 Case: 14-11267 Document: 00513351760 Page: 3 Date Filed: 01/21/2016 No. 14-11267 The following morning around 9:00 a.m., on January 16, 2014, officers set up surveillance at the New York House. An officer testified that the officers “decided instead of trying to set up the buy again that [they] would move up and go directly to the source of the cocaine.” The officer also answered affirmatively when asked whether the officers “anticipate[d] that [the prior day’s] transaction might actually be consummated” that day. The record does not contain any further explanation as to why the officers believed a drug transaction might occur that day specifically. After approximately thirty minutes of surveillance, Loera arrived at the New York House driving a silver sport utility vehicle. Shortly thereafter, Spears arrived at the New York House driving a white truck with an Oklahoma license plate. A third, blue car either arrived near this same time or was already parked in the driveway when surveillance began. The driveway extended all the way down the side of the house, behind the house, and into the backyard. Spears backed his truck into the driveway towards the back of the house—in between the house and the fence—in a manner that completely obstructed the driver’s side and the passenger’s side of the truck from the view of the officers on the street. Had the officers been located directly in front of the driveway, they would have been able to see Spears’s truck better, but from their vantage point they could not see whether Spears exited his truck, entered or exited the house, or talked to Loera. At this time, Spears was unknown to the officers, and he had not previously been identified as a suspect connected with drug activity, the New York House, or Loera. Spears drove away from the New York House ten to twenty minutes after he arrived, and an officer followed him. Five to ten minutes after Spears left, a red car with Louisiana license plates arrived at the New York House. Officers observed two men get out of the red car, meet with Loera in the front yard, go to the back of the house without carrying anything, return to the car 3 Case: 14-11267 Document: 00513351760 Page: 4 Date Filed: 01/21/2016 No. 14-11267 carrying a duffle bag, and put the duffle bag in the trunk of the car. The two men left after approximately five minutes, and officers followed them. Shortly thereafter, Loera left in the sport utility vehicle, and officers followed him as well.