USA v. Garrido
Western District of Kentucky at Bowling Green
CRIMINAL: Search and Seizure

06a0416p.06  11/9/2006

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. Officers from the Kentucky Department of Vehicle Enforcement (KVE) stopped the truck being driven by Victor M. Garrido on an interstate highway near Bowling Green, Kentucky for an alleged traffic violation. They then engaged in an
hour-long safety inspection of the vehicle, following which the officers obtained Garrido’s verbal consent to search the passenger compartment. The subsequent search, aided by a trained drug detection dog, uncovered 161 grams of heroin and other incriminating evidence. Garrido moved to suppress the evidence discovered during the search, but the district court denied his motion. A jury subsequently convicted him of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute the drug. He was sentenced to 63 months of imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release.

Garrido now appeals, arguing that (1) the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress, and (2) the evidence presented by the government was insufficient to support his conviction. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.