S.D.Tex.: Even though def’s Mexican LPN couldn’t be checked except for whether it was in a crime, the officer was still able to inquire

“The record shows that Sgt. Thumman determined almost immediately after the stop that Defendant’s [Mexican] registration was expired, which is an arrestable offense in Texas. Despite the 10-6 [don’t report back unless vehicle used in a crime], he was free to inquire about the purpose and itinerary of Defendant’s trip without unlawfully extending the stop, because the Fifth Circuit ‘consider[s] these questions to be reasonably related in scope to his investigation of the circumstances that caused the stop.’ … During this conversation, Sgt. Thumman developed additional reasonable suspicion of illegal activity based on Defendant’s extreme nervousness and seemingly false statement about his recent travel history between Mexico and Houston. … Within four minutes after initiating the stop, Sgt. Thumman conducted this colloquy and received consent to search Defendant’s vehicle. During the next seven minutes, he observed that Defendant had no luggage in the vehicle, observed the gas tank had been recently installed and was abnormally dense, developed a belief that the gas tank contained a hidden compartment that likely contained contraband, and directly asked Defendant about the contents of the gas tank.” All this was reasonable suspicion. United States v. Lozano-Alvarez, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 219080 (S.D. Tex. Dec. 18, 2019).*