United States v. Francisco Corral-Franco, Maria Guadalupe Corral-Franco, and Maria Aparis Franco

GARWOOD, Circuit Judge:

The government appeals the district court's order suppressing as evidence 191 pounds of marihuana that United States Border Patrol agents found in the defendants’ luggage at the El Paso International Airport. The district court ordered suppression on the ground that the marihuana in question was the fruit of an illegal arrest that occurred on the morning of February 25, 1987, at a departure gate at the airport. We conclude that the district court applied a legally incorrect test in determining that an arrest then occurred, and accordingly we vacate the suppression order…