United States v. Jairo Benjamin Rivera-Raposa

── United States v. Jairo Benjamin Rivera-Raposa ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Date: May 19, 2026 Category: General NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 24-2354 _____________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JAIRO BENJAMIN RIVERA-RAPOSA, Appellant _____________ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. No. 3:22-cr-00199-001) District Judge: Honorable Robert D. Mariani _____________ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) September 24, 2025 _____________ Before: CHAGARES, Chief Judge, MONTGOMERY-REEVES and MCKEE, Circuit Judges (Filed: May 19, 2026) _____________________ OPINION _____________________  This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. CHAGARES, Chief Judge. Jairo Benjamin Rivera-Raposa pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine recovered from his vehicle after a traffic stop. Before pleading guilty, he moved to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his vehicle on the ground that the searching state police troopers impermissibly strayed from the original mission of the traffic stop. The District Court denied the motion to suppress following an evidentiary hearing, and Rivera-Raposa now appeals. Because we conclude that Rivera-Raposa’s arguments are without merit, we will affirm the decision of the District Court. I.1 On March 24, 2022, Rivera-Raposa was stopped by Pennsylvania State Police Troopers Brian Konopka and Robert Borkowski while he was traveling along Interstate 380, which Trooper Konopka understood to be a known drug-trafficking corridor. While on patrol, Trooper Konopka noticed that Rivera-Raposa’s white Mazda SUV had windows that were tinted beyond the level permitted by Pennsylvania law. The SUV also had a license plate with a number indicating that it had been recently registered in New York and appeared to belong to a car dealership located on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, New York, which Trooper Konopka understood to be a drug-trafficking hub. Trooper Konopka stopped the SUV and asked the defendant, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, for his driver’s license. It was raining and tractor trailers were passing by on the 1 We write primarily for the parties and recite only the facts essential to our decision. 2 interstate. Accordingly, Trooper Konopka very briefly leaned his head slightly through the passenger window while asking Rivera-Raposa questions. Trooper Konopka asked Rivera-Raposa where he was going while the defendant procured his license. Rivera-Raposa paused before answering that he was going to Syracuse. In response to follow-up questions about his travel plans, Rivera-Raposa explained that he was a phlebotomist traveling to Syracuse to administer an at-home COVID-19 test. Rivera-Raposa appeared nervous and was shaking. Trooper Konopka then leaned his head through the window and asked the defendant about a garbage bag at the foot of the passenger seat.2 Appendix (“App.”) Volume III (“Video”) at 2:25. Rivera-Raposa did not directly respond to the question but instead rolled down the back pa