United States v. Rivera

THOMPSON, Circuit Judge.

Setting the Stage

Randy Ray Rivera pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). His conditional plea reserved the right to appeal from the district judge’s order denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from his home — a seizure authorized by a warrant issued by the same judge. Rivera had argued below that the affidavit DEA special agent John Barron submitted in support of the application failed to establish probable cause because it did not provide an adequate nexus between his drug dealing and his house. 1 Rivera had also…