Opinion ID: 148909
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Heras's Statements to Federal Authorities

Text: Upon learning of Correa's arrest, other federal agents surveilling the Holiday Inn parking lot proceeded to the minivan in which Correa had arrived at the hotel. The van's engine and lights were turned off and two men were sitting inside: Heras in the driver's seat and Jorge Rodriguez in the passenger's seat. The men were not formally arrested, but they were brought to a nearby location for questioning. [1] After providing biographical information, Heras asked the agents what was going on. Advised that a serious federal crime had been committed involving the importation of narcotics, Heras stated: `Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whatever happened up there, that has to do with Simon. That has nothing to do with me.' Trial Tr. at 83 (testimony of Agent Robert Etienne regarding Heras's statement). [2] At this point, the agents advised Heras of his rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 478-79, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Heras orally acknowledged that he understood his rights, and he stated that he wanted to cooperate and was willing to speak without an attorney. Heras told the agents he was at the Holiday Inn to drop off a friend named Luichi, i.e., Correa. Trial Tr. at 84. Heras initially denied any knowledge of or involvement in a drug deal, asserting that he understood Correa to be going to the hotel to meet a girl, and explaining that he was waiting outside for a phone call telling him that Correa was safe. Id. at 85. When agents challenged the plausibility of this account, Heras acknowledged that Correa was a drug dealer and that he knew Correa was at the hotel to pick up drugs. Although Heras denied knowing that purpose when he picked Correa up in Manhattan, Heras admitted that the drug deal was openly discussed during the drive to Queens. Id. at 86. At one point, Heras claimed that he was not going to permit Correa to get back in his car, a statement at odds not only with Heras's waiting in the parking lot while Correa was in the hotel, but also with Heras's subsequent acknowledgment that he expected Correa to compensate him for his assistance on January 25 as he had in the past: by connecting Heras with suppliers for his own marijuana distribution business.