Opinion ID: 173724
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Rest Area Encounter

Text: As law enforcement officers stopped and arrested Fernández, Betancourt, and Altamarino, other Massachusetts state troopers and DEA agents secured the rest area. Officer Thomas Nartowicz, who was working with the DEA team, observed two tractor-trailer trucks parked near the exit of the rest area. One of the trucks had California license plates, a sign that read Verdugo Trucking, and an engine that was still warm. The other had license plates from a southern state, a cold engine, and was driven by a man who needed to be awakened from sleep and did not speak with a Spanish accent. On the basis of these observations and additional information obtained from members of the DEA team, Nartowicz and Trooper Robert Wycoff focused their attention on the truck with the California plates, shined a flashlight on the cab area of the suspected truck, and, with guns drawn, directed the occupants to come out. Verdugo and a second man, later identified as Esteban Arias-Cortez, emerged from the cab moments later and were handcuffed. Nartowicz then inspected the cab for additional occupants and readily available weapons but found nothing of significance. Prior to being advised of his Miranda rights, Verdugo told Nartowicz that he owned the truck and was shipping produce to a company in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Nartowicz then asked Verdugo and Arias whether there were any illegal substances in the cab area, and both men said no. Another trooper joined the officers at the scene with a K-9 dog, and obtained Verdugo's consent to search the truck's cab area. The search did not reveal any contraband materials. Agent Daniel MacIsaac, another member of the DEA team, later obtained Verdugo's consent to search the cab area a second time, and this time he found four cell phones. Through radio communications with Naylor, MacIsaac learned that Naylor had seized Altamirano's cell phones, and planned to call the California phone number that Verdugo had been using to communicate with Altamirano. When Naylor dialed the phone number, one of the four phones that MacIsaac had just seized from the cab area rang. MacIsaac then asked Verdugo and Arias to whom the ringing phone belonged, and Verdugo replied that the phone was his. Following the seizure of the four cell phones, Nartowicz advised Verdugo of his Miranda rights in English by reading from a pre-printed card. Verdugo agreed to waive his Miranda rights, and consented to a search of the truck's cargo compartment. Because it was dark, Nartowicz and MacIsaac asked Verdugo and Arias to accompany them to a nearby police barracks for fingerprinting and a more thorough search of the truck, and assured them that they were not under arrest. Both men agreed to proceed with the officers to the barracks, and the group departed. Verdugo and Arias arrived between 4:00 and 4:50 a.m. at the Northampton, Massachusetts state police barracks, where they were fingerprinted and photographed as agents conducted a search of the truck's cargo compartment. The suspects were then asked to identify the four cell phones that had been seized during the search at the rest area. Verdugo again admitted that he owned the ringing cell phone and asserted that he also owned one of the three remaining phones. Verdugo then signed a Prisoner Property Inventory form stating that he owned both phones. Verdugo and Arias were released later that morning.