Case: 18-40717 Document: 00515106406 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/05/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 18-40717 FILED Summary Calendar September 5, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. ANTONIO ESCOBAR, Defendant-Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 2:17-CR-529-1 Before WIENER, HAYNES, and COSTA, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Antonio Escobar was convicted by a jury of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute and sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment. On appeal, he contends that (1) the district court erroneously denied his motion to suppress evidence; (2) he was denied the right to present a complete defense; (3) the Government’s closing argument was prejudicially improper; and (4) the evidence was insufficient to prove his guilt. We affirm. * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Case: 18-40717 Document: 00515106406 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/05/2019 No. 18-40717 Escobar fails to show that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the cocaine that Border Patrol agents discovered in his truck. See United States v. Lopez-Moreno, 420 F.3d 420, 429 (5th Cir. 2005). The less- than-three-minute immigration stop was sufficiently brief under the Fourth Amendment, see United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543, 563 (1976), and Escobar’s nervous and evasive behavior, unusual responses to lawful questions, and provision of a suspicious bill of lading gave agents sufficient reasonable suspicion to extend the stop, see United States v. Ventura, 447 F.3d 375, 378 (5th Cir. 2006). Rodriguez v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 1609 (2015), does not alter this calculus. See United States v. Tello, 924 F.3d 782, 785-89 (5th Cir. 2019). We review Escobar’s unpreserved right-to-present-a-defense argument for plain error. See United States v. Gibson, 875 F.3d 179, 193 (5th Cir. 2017); United States v. Snarr, 704 F.3d 368, 382 (5th Cir. 2013). He cannot show plain constitutional error because he fails to address whether the alleged error by the district court seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. See Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135 (2009); United States v. Andaverde-Tinoco, 741 F.3d 509, 523 (5th Cir. 2013). In any event, Escobar fails to show that the court clearly or obviously violated his right to present a defense. See United States v. Kuhrt, 788 F.3d 403, 421 (5th Cir. 2015); Puckett, 556 U.S. at 129. The jury already knew Villanueva had driven the truck immediately before Escobar. And the court did not prohibit Escobar from introducing Villanueva’s prior conviction or calling Garcia to elicit his false initial statements. To the extent that he raises a preserved challenge to the evidentiary ruling, any error was harmless. See United States v. El-Mezain, 664 F.3d 467, 526 (5th Cir. 2011). 2 Case: 18-40717 Document: 00515106406 Page: ...
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