Oristel Soto-Peguero v. United States
Whether the court erred when it denied Petitioner's motion to suppress evidence discovered during an illegal search of Petitioner's residence on the basis that the evidence was independently discovered, the following day, during a search pursuant to a valid warrant. This decision was erroneous because the illegally obtained evidence, a firearm and two kilos of heroin, was included in the detective's affidavit in support of the warrant and presented to the Magistrate and affected her decision to issue the warrant. Moreover, the failure to suppress the evidence sullies the prophylaxis of the Fourth Amendment because the officers illegally searched Petitioner's residence and then falsely testified about the search at the suppression hearing and at trial.
Whether the district court erred when it enhanced Petitioner's sentence under USSG §3B1.1(c) for a leadership role in the conspiracy to distribute heroin based on the single phrase "I am sending my wife" in reference to a delivery of heroin to a coconspirator. This single phrase does not meet the government's burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that Petitioner "exercised control over, organized, or was otherwise responsible for superintending the activities of' his common law wife.
Whether the court erred when it denied Petitioner's motion to suppress evidence discovered during an illegal search