Opinion ID: 2623375
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The First Stop

Text: {3} On July 29, 1999, at approximately 5:00 p.m., Otero County Sheriff's Deputy House stopped a blue 1975 Monte Carlo on Highway 54 about two or three miles south of Alamogordo. Highway 54 is an area of heavy drug trafficking with a permanent Border Patrol station. Deputy House stopped the car because he thought it did not have a license plate. After stopping the car, the deputy noticed the vehicle did have a license plate located off to the side in a place where the manufacturer had designed it to be. Notwithstanding the presence of the license plate, Deputy House approached the driver, Swanson, and requested his driver's license, proof of insurance, and vehicle registration. He told Swanson that the license plate needed to be in a more visible location. Although Deputy House considered the inconspicuous placement of the license plate to be an offense under the traffic laws, he decided not to issue a citation. {4} After Deputy House told the passengers they were free to go, Deputy Hill arrived on the scene. Deputy Hill is a canine officer who often provides assistance to Deputy House when he is on patrol. Before Swanson could leave, Deputy House asked for Swanson's permission to have Deputy Hill walk his dog around the car. Swanson asked if he had to consent to the canine sniff, and Deputy House replied that he did not. Swanson refused. According to Deputy House, Swanson and Vandenberg, the passenger, looked at each other, refused to make eye contact with Deputy House, and became very nervous when asked about the canine sniff. {5} Deputy House allowed Defendants to continue on their way, yet his suspicions were aroused. In addition to the nervous behavior he observed, Deputy House had other concerns associated with the traffic stop. During the stop, another vehicle drove by and honked and hollered at Defendants. Swanson told Deputy House they had taken a friend to the El Paso airport and were on their way home. Deputy House assumed that the other car had also traveled to El Paso with them. Although Deputy House did not ask Swanson directly if this other car was traveling with them, he found it unusual that they had taken two vehicles to the airport. Their story seemed somehow inconsistent to Deputy House. {6} Because Deputy House thought Defendants had acted in a suspicious and nervous manner, he issued a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) to the Alamogordo city police. Officer Roberts responded to the call. Deputy House gave a description of the vehicle and the direction it was traveling. Deputy House told Officer Roberts about the nervousness he had observed and the alleged inconsistencies in their statements. The deputy also informed Officer Roberts that Defendants had refused the canine sniff.