By: Derek Hawkins//March 19, 2018//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: United States of America v. Mario A. Rodriguez-Escalera
Case No.: 17-2334
Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, HAMILTON, Circuit Judge, and BUCKLO, District Judge.
Focus: Motion to Suppress
Defendant-appellee Mario Rodriguez-Escalera (“Rodriguez”) and his fiancée Blanca Moran were arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841, after police discovered a large amount of methamphetamine and cash in Moran’s vehicle during a traffic stop. Before the district court, Rodriguez and Moran each moved on Fourth Amendment grounds to suppress the evidence obtained in the vehicle search. Concluding that the evidence was derived from an unlawfully extended traffic stop, the court granted both motions. On appeal, the government challenges the grant of Rodriguez’s motion to suppress. We affirm.
Affirmed