S.D.Tex.: Def’s fumbling with papers and not knowing owner of the car he was driving and where he was was RS

A flapping paper tag that couldn’t be easily seen was reasonable justification for defendant’s stop. The stop was continued with reasonable suspicion. United States v. Carrizales, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 204252 (S.D. Tex. Nov. 2, 2020).* As to reasonable suspicion:

Here, Dedeaux relied on much more than the fact that Esquivel appeared nervous. Esquivel was nervous, gave him the wrong papers at first, and did not know the name of the person who owned the car. His story about traveling to visit his dad did not seem to match with the circumstances, he was traveling on a drug-trafficking corridor in a borrowed car, and his records check revealed that he had a history with drugs. These circumstances are sufficient for a reasonable person to conclude that another crime was afoot. See United States v. Villafranco-Elizondo, 897 F.3d 635, 642 (5th Cir. 2018) (The officer “had already developed reasonable suspicion that another crime was afoot. Where an officer develops reasonable suspicion of another crime … during the course of a traffic stop, he may prolong the suspect’s detention until he has dispelled that newly-formed suspicion.”). The court finds that Dedeaux had reasonable suspicion to prolong the stop. Esquivel’s motion to suppress evidence based on a prolonged stop is DENIED.

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