United States v. Juan Guilbe Irizarry and Jose Garcia Rodriguez

COFFIN, Chief Judge.

This case poses a Fourth Amendment challenge to the validity of a warrantless search and seizure by federal agents in Puerto Rico. One defendant also raises the further question of whether his motion for a verdict of acquittal was properly denied. Our review of the record persuades us that the trial court should have suppressed some of the challenged evidence, and that one of the convictions should therefore be reversed.

I. The Facts

During the late evening and early morning of January 28-29, 1980, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration’s Puerto Rican office…