Opinion ID: 6497989
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sierra-Ayala's Involvement

Text: Sierra-Ayala testified at the two suppression hearings about how he came to be at the drug point on Melilla Street on January 29, 2017. Because this testimony is relevant to SierraAyala's motion to suppress, we summarize it here. Sierra-Ayala grew up in a house on Melilla Street about five or six houses away from the site of his arrest. Although he now lives with his wife and two children in a different area of Loíza, Sierra-Ayala returned to his parents' house on Melilla Street between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. on January 29, 2017 to work on a Nissan Pathfinder that he was keeping and repairing there. On the morning of his arrest, Sierra-Ayala was waiting for his friend Jose Carlos, who was going to help him remove the radiator from the Pathfinder and take him to purchase a replacement. At about 8:30 a.m., Sierra-Ayala stopped working on his car and went to buy a soda and cigarettes from his cousin, who sells refreshments from his grandmother's house. This house is across the street from Sierra-Ayala's parents' house. Because the items Sierra-Ayala wished to purchase cost around $3 and his cousin - 5 - did not have change for Sierra-Ayala's $10 bill, Sierra-Ayala went off in search of change. He walked toward a group of individuals further down Melilla Street -- which included another one of Sierra-Ayala's cousins, Jean Carlos Sirino -- and attempted to get change from Jean Carlos. While Jean Carlos searched for change, he passed the bag he was holding to Sierra-Ayala. Sierra-Ayala testified that the zipper of the bag was closed, and that he had been holding the bag for [a]round five seconds when the PRPD officers arrived. As discussed above, Sierra-Ayala testified that the officers' arrival and Sergeant López-Maysonet's approach and alleged order made him feel that he had no choice but to hand over the bag.