United States v. Jesus Cervantes, 703 F.3d 1135

Detective Hankel surveilled a suspected narcotics stash house and observed a man deliver a white box to Cervantes.
Cervantes then drove to a liquor store, purchased items, and later used a non-direct route, fueling Hankel's counter-surveillance concern.
Officers stopped Cervantes for failing to stop at the limit line and performed a pat-down after failing to locate a license, leading to an impoundment and inventory search.
During the inventory search, officers found a white cardboard box containing approximately two kilograms of cocaine.
Cervantes was arrested for transporting narcotics; DMV records later confirmed Cervantes had a valid license.
The district court denied suppression, ruling the impoundment/search were justified by the community caretaking exception or, alternatively, by the automobile exception.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Probable cause for automobile search	Cervantes	Cervantes	Probable cause lacking; automobile exception fails
Community caretaking justification for impoundment	Cervantes	Cervantes	Impairment not justified; impoundment invalid

California v. Acevedo, 500 U.S. 565 (U.S. 1991) (probable cause to search a container inside a vehicle)
United States v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. 1983) (totality-of-the-circumstances probable cause standard)
United States v. Thomas, 211 F.3d 1186 (9th Cir. 2000) (conclusory stash-house allegations insufficient for probable cause)
Miranda v. City of Cornelius, 429 F.3d 858 (9th Cir. 2005) (community caretaking requires caretaking function for impoundment)
Opperman, 428 U.S. 364 (U.S. 1976) (inventory searches must follow standard procedures; caretaking function for impoundment)
United States v. Caseres, 533 F.3d 1064 (9th Cir. 2008) (inventory search unconstitutional when caretaking function not shown)