United States of America v. Alex Vallejos

Albuquerque, New Mexico criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with possession of over 500 grams of cocaine withthe intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B

V

allejos entered his plea on the condition that he could appeal the district court's denial of his motion

to suppress evidence—in particular, a red box containing cocaine and statements he

made to Drug Enforcement Administration agents about the box—that the agents

obtained during a traffic stop.



Agents stopped Vallejos's car after a meeting. To protect the Montoya

investigation, they told Vallejos his vehicle matched the description of a car involved

in a violent crime in the area and required him to step out of the vehicle and sit on the

curb. During their search, they found the red box. Vallejos claimed he did not know

what was in the box and that he had just bought a tool from someone. Over

Vallejos's protest, agents seized the box because they believed it contained illegal

drugs. Agents then briefly handcuffed Vallejos, but ultimately released him from the

scene until the contents of the red box were tested. Laboratory tests confirmed the

red box contained approximately one kilogram of cocaine. After the encounter

ended, agents discovered they had not returned Vallejos's driver's license. They

brought it back to the address listed and gave the license to Vallejos's wife



Motion to suppress denied.

Affirmed