Opinion ID: 169493
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Extension of Stop

Text: Once an officer has returned the motorist's license and other papers and issued any citation he intends to give, he must usually allow her to proceed on her way without additional questioning. United States v. Patten, 183 F.3d 1190, 1193 (10th Cir.1999). Further detention must be justified by an objectively reasonable and articulable suspicion of illegal activity based on the totality of the circumstances. United States v. Williams, 271 F.3d 1262, 1268 (10th Cir.2001). We affirm the district court's conclusion that Sergeant Bauer's detention of Ms. Contreras beyond the scope of the initial traffic stop was supported by reasonable suspicion. Sergeant Bauer's testimony paints a convincing picture of reasonable suspicion. The officer reported that the defendant was shaking so badly that she could not hold on to the papers in her hand. More importantly, she offered an account of her travel plans that seemed suspicious at best and incredible at worst. Ms. Contreras claimed to have driven more than 1,200 miles to see her family, only to turn around within a day and begin the 1,200-mile drive back. Add the presence of food wrappers from a California restaurant and the fact that she was driving a rental car  which Sergeant Bauer knew to be often used by narcotics traffickers . . . [because] it can't be seized, R. Vol. II, at 21  and Ms. Contreras's conduct begins to strongly resemble that of a narcotics courier transporting a load between the West Coast and Nebraska. We have noted numerous times that implausible travel plans can form a basis for reasonable suspicion. United States v. Alcaraz-Arellano, 441 F.3d 1252, 1260 (10th Cir.2006); United States v. Kopp, 45 F.3d 1450, 1453-54 (10th Cir.1995). We have also credited the idea that drug couriers often use third-party rental cars. Williams, 271 F.3d at 1270. Although we have found nervousness to be of only limited significance in determining whether reasonable suspicion exist[s], United States v. Wood, 106 F.3d 942, 948 (10th Cir.1997), it does add to the overall calculus of suspicious behavior, especially when, as here, it is extreme. Taken as a whole, Sergeant Bauer's assessment that Ms. Contreras's actions created reasonable suspicion of narcotics activity is more than sufficient.