Opinion ID: 671503
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Characteristics of the Area

Text: 16 The characteristics of the area in which Agent Jones encountered Lopez-Martinez's vehicle and the accompanying sedan strongly support the court's finding of reasonable suspicion. Agent Jones testified that he watched the two vehicles exit Interstate 25 from the northbound lanes at the Radium Springs exit, less than ten miles south of the Las Cruces immigration checkpoint on Interstate 25. In addition, the government presented data revealing the number of aliens apprehended within close proximity to the fixed immigration checkpoints in southern New Mexico. 3 Nor does Lopez-Martinez refute the government's evidence that, aside from a few retail establishments at which he did not stop, both the crossover road from Interstate 25 to Highway 185 and Highway 185 wind through minimally populated desert area and provide a slower, more circuitous northbound route than on Interstate 25. Compare United States v. Miranda-Enriquez, 941 F.2d 1081, 1083-84 (10th Cir.1991) (agent lacked reasonable suspicion to stop driver when he first saw him on Highway 52, which also serves as an access road for tourists visiting a nearby lake). 4