Opinion ID: 65371
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Agent Coronado's Account

Text: Coronado advised that the local traffic pattern for Highway 163, one of the highways where the agents spotted the Ford Tempo, was basically oil-field workers, ranchers, and semi-trucks. He added that it was a good route for smuggling aliens and narcotics because there is very little law enforcement in the area, and no immigration checkpoints. He further stated that smugglers would commonly switch from Highway 1024 to Highway 163 to continue their smuggling. Coronado stated that he had received a BOLO for an older model, four-door gray Ford Tempo with two Hispanic male occupants, likely headed to San Angelo and containing marijuana. Based on the BOLO, he believed the car would be traveling on Highway 163 and then 67 towards San Angelo. Coronado stated that the Tempo was not the type of vehicle he typically saw in the traffic he observed on Highway 163. Coronado further stated that the grey Ford Tempo observed by Agent Hardin traveling north on Highway 1024, just before the [Chevy SUV] was observed traveling south, was suspected as the possible load vehicle, which contained the contraband. Comstock [USBP] Agents relayed this information to the San Angelo Agents who conducted surveillance on road commonly used for alien/narcotics smuggling north from the Comstock region. Coronado specified that just being a gray or silver Ford would not [in itself] make a vehicle unique or distinctive. At about 2:30 p.m. that day, Coronado observed a grey 1991 Ford Tempo northbound at Highway 163 and Highway 190. (It was subsequently determined that Rodriguez was the driver of that Tempo.) Coronado advised that the Tempo's occupants looked at Coronado as they passed his vehicle, an unmarked Ford pickup. After looking at Coronado, the Tempo passenger turned to the driver, then slouched in his seat. Coronado stated that the driver of the Tempo was nervous at his presence (though his vehicle was unmarked, Coronado was in a uniform and Coronado stated he would have been visible from the Tempo). As Coronado pulled in behind the Tempo to run its plates, the vehicle sped up. When Coronado closed the distance on the Tempo, the Tempo moved over to the shoulder of the road and slowed down. The Tempo remained at a slow speed on the shoulder for several miles (Coronado ran the license plate before the Tempo moved to the shoulder). The driver was looking in his rearview mirror frequently. He swerved over the yellow dividing line in the road several times; Coronado believed that was because he was looking backward rather than forward. Coronado called for backup because he was in an unmarked sensor pickup with no emergency equipment. The record check of the Tempo's license plate reflected that the vehicle was owned by a Betty A. Munoz of San Angelo, Texas. Coronado found that suspicious because both occupants of the Tempo were males and the owner was a woman; in his experience, education, and training, it was common for drug traffickers to use vehicles registered in other people's names. Coronado followed the Tempo northbound on Highway 163 until it turned northeast on Highway 67. The Tempo abruptly turned into a convenience store and parked. The driver entered the store and returned two or three minutes later; the passenger never exited the vehicle. The Tempo then backed out of the parking lot and pulled onto Highway 67. The two male occupants appeared to be visibly nervous and would not make eye contact with Coronado. Coronado followed the Tempo for about 50 miles in total. During this time, Coronado was in radio contact with other USBP agents in the area, specifically Agent Corey Hodges, who was in San Angelo traveling on Highway 67 towards Coronado. Coronado requested assistance from Hodges in stopping the Tempo because Hodges was in a marked unit and had emergency lights. The Tempo continued northeast on Highway 67 until it passed Agent Hodges' location five miles southwest of Mertzon, Texas. Coronado stated that, on the basis of what he had observed and what Hardin had relayed, Coronado and Hodges initiated a traffic stop of the Tempo. The Tempo continued to travel slowly for a mile or a mile and a half after Hodges turned on his emergency lights before it stopped. On the basis of his experience, education, and training, Coronado stated he believed that the occupants of the Tempo had been getting ready to bail out of the vehicle or looking for a side road to take. Upon his approach to the Tempo's driver's-side door, Hodges observed a large bundle of what he believed to be marijuana on the rear floorboard behind the passenger seat. Rodriguez was placed under arrest and handcuffed, and Coronado read him his Miranda rights. Rodriguez then consented to a search of the vehicle, which yielded 176.5 pounds of marijuana. Only the legality of the stop is at issue here; Rodriguez does not challenge the validity of his consent.