Opinion ID: 1194670
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Detention of Figueroa-Espana

Text: Figueroa-Espana argues that the encounter consisted of two separate and legally distinguishable stops, the second of which violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The first stop, according to Figueroa-Espana, began with the traffic stop and ended when Trooper Wade issued the warning ticket and said he was free to go. The second stop began when Trooper Wade honked the horn which activated the siren, and Trooper Wildauer told Figueroa-Espana, in Spanish, that he had more questions. Figueroa-Espana rightly does not challenge the constitutionality of the traffic stop. Officer Wade had probable cause to stop the truck when he observed that the truck was more close[] than is reasonable and prudent to the car before it, in violation of Ind.Code § 9-21-8-14. See Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 809-10, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996) (finding that a police officer may stop a vehicle when he has probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred). Rather, Figueroa-Espana contends that once the troopers completed the traffic stop and informed him he was free to leave, they had no reasonable basis to initiate a second stop which was neither consensual nor supported by reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct. Figueroa-Espana argues that, under Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 488, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963), any evidence uncovered from this improper second encounter should have been excluded as fruit of the poisonous tree. The district court found that what Figueroa-Espana labeled a second stop was actually a consensual encounter following the initial stop, and, therefore did not implicate any Fourth Amendment rights. In the alternative, the court found that the interaction was a brief investigatory stop, entirely justified by reasonable suspicion of criminal activity based on Figueroa-Espana's behavior and responses to the troopers' questions. As a preliminary matter, we decline to adopt the analytical framework offered by Figueroa-Espana of his encounter with the Indiana troopers. The fact that the troopers sought further information from Figueroa-Espana after he was told he could leave does not render this second phase of questions a new seizure. See United States v. Rivera, 906 F.2d 319, 322-23 (7th Cir.1990) (finding that an officer's request to search a car, after giving the motorist a written warning, returning his identification, and indicating that he was free to leave, was part of a consensual encounter and not a new seizure). Rather, the events following the issuance of the warning ticket are more appropriately analyzed as either a consensual encounter or an extension of the initial stop based on reasonable suspicion. A consensual encounter between an individual and a law enforcement official does not trigger Fourth Amendment scrutiny. United States v. Moore, 375 F.3d 580, 584 (7th Cir.2004). In determining whether a stop is consensual, relevant factors include whether the encounter took place in public, whether the suspect consented to speak to police, whether the officers told the suspect that he was not under arrest and free to leave, whether the suspect was moved to another area, the number of officers present and whether they displayed weapons or physical force. See United States v. Adamson, 441 F.3d 513, 520 (7th Cir.2006). The district court, in finding that the encounter was consensual, noted that Figueroa-Espana was not under arrest, that the officers never displayed their weapons or made threats of physical force, and that he had just been told he was free to leave. Figueroa-Espana offers little to disturb this finding, arguing that the short whoop of the siren and the tone of the troopers' questions demonstrate that the encounter was a seizure and not a consensual encounter. In any event, even if the whoop of the siren and the subsequent questions constituted a detention, such a detention was part of an extension of the initial traffic stop entirely justified by reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. A seizure that is justified solely by the interest in issuing a warning ticket to the driver can become unlawful if it is prolonged beyond the time reasonably required to complete that mission. Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405, 407, 125 S.Ct. 834, 160 L.Ed.2d 842 (2005). However, information lawfully obtained during that period may provide the officer with reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct that will justify prolonging the stop to permit a reasonable investigation. United States v. Martin, 422 F.3d 597, 602 (7th Cir.2005); United States v. Muriel, 418 F.3d 720, 725 (7th Cir.2005). This court has emphasized that the length of detention following a traffic stop based on probable cause must be reasonable. See Muriel, 418 F.3d at 725; United States v. Carpenter, 406 F.3d 915, 916 (7th Cir.2005); United States v. Childs, 277 F.3d 947, 954 (7th Cir.2002) (en banc) (What the Constitution requires is that the entire process remain reasonable.). Under the totality of the circumstances, the troopers were wholly justified in prolonging the stop; Figueroa-Espana's statements and demeanor created reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct. During the initial traffic stop, Figueroa-Espana changed his story as to who owned the truck, vacillating between himself, an unnamed friend, and his boss. He provided conflicting information regarding his destination. He failed to provide a valid driver's license or vehicle registration. He admitted that he was in the United States illegally. Both troopers testified that Figueroa-Espana appeared nervous during their questioning. Figueroa-Espana argues that each of these independent factors has an innocent explanation, without reference to the possession of drugs. Nevertheless, even when innocent explanations exist for individual factors taken separately, reasonable suspicion may arise when the factors are considered together. See United States v. Baskin, 401 F.3d 788, 793 (7th Cir.2005) ([B]ehavior which is susceptible to an innocent explanation when isolated from its context may still give rise to reasonable suspicion when considered in light of all of the factors at play.); United States v. Finke, 85 F.3d 1275, 1280 (7th Cir.1996) (finding that factors considered separately may have innocent explanations, but give rise to reasonable suspicion when viewed in combination). In light of all of the information available to the troopers which was lawfully obtained during the course of the initial traffic stop, it was not unreasonable for the troopers to suspect that Figueroa-Espana was engaging in criminal conduct. See Martin, 422 F.3d at 602. Nor was it unreasonable for the troopers to further detain Figueroa-Espana to investigate this suspicion. The extension of time after the issuance of the warning ticket was anything but unreasonable; indeed, Trooper Wildauer proceeded quite expeditiously, obtaining Figueroa-Espana's consent to search the truck within moments of asking the additional questions. As such, the activation of the siren and subsequent questions from Trooper Wildauer did not constitute an unlawful detention of Figueroa-Espana.