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616 East Bender Blvd. Hobbs NM 88240 View Map
State v. Lopez
BACKGROUND




{2}     The undisputed facts are as follows.  On August 1, 2003, Hobbs police officer Antonio De La Fuente stopped the vehicle in which Defendant was a passenger for running a stop sign.  As the officer approached the driver's side of the car, he saw Defendant attempt to place something under his seat, and he noted a wet spot on the passenger's side floorboard.  When Officer De La Fuente asked Defendant what was under the seat, Defendant put both of his hands under the seat and appeared to attempt to push something further back under the seat.




{3}     Officer De La Fuente then ordered Defendant out of the vehicle and called for backup.  When his backup arrived, Officer De La Fuente looked underneath the passenger's seat and found a partially empty bottle of beer.  When the officer asked Defendant's age, Defendant replied that he was eighteen.  Officer De La Fuente also noted that Defendant exhibited several indicia of intoxication, including blood-shot, watery eyes.  Based on this information, the officer arrested Defendant on suspicion of being a minor in possession of alcohol and transported him to the Hobbs City Jail.  Subsequently, Officer De La Fuente searched the backseat of the patrol car where Defendant had been sitting and found a white, powdery residue on the seat itself and a folded dollar bill containing a similar substance.  The substance was later found to be cocaine.

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