NUMBER 13-17-00649-CR COURT OF APPEALS THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG AGUSTINA HERNANDEZ HERNANDEZ, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee. On appeal from the 107th District Court of Cameron County, Texas. MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Chief Justice Contreras and Justices Rodriguez and Benavides1 Memorandum Opinion by Justice Benavides By three issues, appellant Agustina Hernandez Hernandez challenges her conviction for possession of between fifty and two hundred pounds of marijuana, a second-degree felony. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 481.121(b)(5). 1 The Honorable Nelda V. Rodriguez, former Justice of this Court, was a member of the panel when this case was orally argued but did not participate in this decision because her term of office expired on December 31, 2018. Hernandez argues that: (1) the trial court erred by denying her motion to suppress; (2) it was error to permit the introduction of evidence of her immigration status; and (3) the State’s closing argument warranted the reversal of her conviction and a new trial. We affirm. I. BACKGROUND On April 8, 2017, Hernandez was arrested approximately 700 yards from the border with Mexico, along with other adults, and two bundles of marijuana were found in her vehicle. She was charged by indictment for the possession of marijuana. See id. Prior to a trial on the merits, the trial court held a hearing on Hernandez’s motion to suppress. A. Suppression Hearing Agent Jonathan Hanson of the United States Border Patrol (Border Patrol) testified that he received information that the remote video surveillance cameras utilized by Border Patrol showed individuals exiting the Los Fresnos canal and loading bundles into a vehicle. Agent Hanson stated he was near the area and responded when he noticed a vehicle on the opposite side of the canal from his location. He also explained the location was an area where people frequently cross the Rio Grande and he was familiar with the activities and location. As he approached the vehicle, Agent Hanson saw four to five people in the minivan and saw two bundles in plain sight. He stated that Hernandez was driving the minivan and complied with his directives to exit the vehicle. Agent Hanson had a canine officer respond and conduct a free-air sniff. The canine officer alerted to the presence of narcotics. Agent Hanson explained he and other agents who responded 2 arrested Hernandez and the other occupants of her vehicle. The bundles were taken to the Border Patrol station and field tested, yielding a positive test for marijuana. Hernandez also testified at the suppression hearing. She stated she believed she was driving on a public roadway and was “cruising around.” Hernandez explained that a friend had asked her to go pick up two men, who got into her vehicle with bundles. She stated she thought their truck had broken down, even though she stated she did not see a truck, and did not know them or why they were wet. She agreed that the men loaded the bundles in her ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals