A woman convicted of possession of marijuana and transportation of marijuana for sale in 2019, following a traffic stop between Tucson and Phoenix, had her convictions and sentences vacated, Monday.
The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court erred in denying Asalia Alvarez-Soto’s motion to suppress the evidence seized from the vehicle she was driving because law enforcement lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop.
According to court documents, Alvarez-Soto was pulled over in 2018. Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper Ashton Shewey saw a sedan driving in the Pinal County area with a “newer” license plate registered in Nogales. Shewey ran her plate and found that the sedan had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border multiple times.
Shewey decided to make a traffic stop based on the details, which fit the profile of a vehicle used to transport drugs across the border, the documents said.
Shewey followed the sedan, which Alvarez-Soto was driving in the middle of three lanes on Interstate 10. Shewey first saw that Alvarez-Soto was traveling three miles above the posted speed limit of 75 miles per hour. After several minutes, Alvarez-Soto slowed down to 70 miles per hour, Shewey told the court.