Opinion ID: 600741
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Events Prior to the Appearance of Perea

Text: 4 In about November 1990, Customs agents had commenced surveillance of a residential building at 97-37 Corona Avenue, Queens, New York (Corona building), that they had determined was being used as a count house where proceeds of narcotics sales were counted before transfer to other locations. On January 28, 1991, agents observed two men in a red Oldsmobile arrive at the Corona building. The men had beepers and made several calls from a nearby pay telephone. They eventually went into the building with a shopping bag; some 12 minutes later, they emerged without the bag. Agents attempted to follow as the men drove away but were thwarted as the driver engaged in a variety of evasive tactics. 5 On January 30, agents observed the same Oldsmobile arrive at the Corona building. Again the occupants made calls from a pay phone before one of them went into the building. This time when the men drove away, agents were able, despite the driver's maneuvers, to follow them. After stopping at various locations in Queens to make calls from pay telephones, the men arrived at 136-20 61st Road, Queens, and the driver went into that building (61st Road building). A grey Nissan was parked in the driveway. 6 On January 31, the agents conducted surveillance of the 61st Road building. They saw in the driveway a car that was registered to an individual with prior narcotics arrests. In the evening, a man and a woman arrived in the grey Nissan that the agents had seen there the previous day. 7 On the morning of February 1, agents resumed surveillance of the 61st Road building, and the Nissan was again parked in the driveway. At about 9:50 a.m., a man later identified as Hernan Ortiz left the building and drove off in the Nissan. Agents followed as he drove to the Long Island Expressway, made a call from a telephone booth, returned to the Nissan and drove along the expressway for some miles, then exited, parked the car, and walked away. One agent continued to watch the Nissan; another apparently attempted to follow Ortiz but lost sight of him. Ortiz was next seen arriving back at the 61st Road building by livery cab at about 11:45 a.m. 8 In the meantime, an agent posted outside the 61st Road building had seen the red Oldsmobile arrive at about 11:05. The driver rang the doorbell, without apparent response. He threw pebbles at a second-floor window and seemed to make gestures toward someone there. He then appeared to look for surveillance, got in the Oldsmobile, and sped away.