United States v. Fernandez

O’SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge:

We must decide whether evidence obtained from an authorized wiretap investigation must be suppressed where the government continued to intercept a named target’s conversations despite his adoption of a new alias.

I

A

At the heart of this case are six wiretap orders obtained by Drug Enforcement Agency investigators between May and October 2003 as part of an investigation of a drug trafficking conspiracy. At the outset of the investigation, the officers believed that the conspiracy was headed by an individual named Enrique Mendoza, and thus the first four wiretap…