Fernando Pedraza v. the State of Texas

Texas Court of Appeals, 4th District (San Antonio)·Decided July 22, 2026·No. 04-25-00210-CR·Published

Opinion

Fourth Court of Appeals San Antonio, Texas MEMORANDUM OPINION

No. 04-25-00210-CR

Fernando PEDRAZA, Appellant

v.

The STATE of Texas, Appellee

From the 454th Judicial District Court, Medina County, Texas Trial Court No. 24-04-15126-CR Honorable Daniel J. Kindred, Judge Presiding

Opinion by: Lori I. Valenzuela, Justice

Sitting: Lori I. Valenzuela, Justice Adrian A. Spears II, Justice Velia J. Meza, Justice

Delivered and Filed: July 22, 2026

AFFIRMED

A jury found appellant, Fernando Pedraza, guilty of possession of a controlled substance

and assessed punishment at four years’ confinement. In two issues on appeal, Pedraza challenges

the trial court’s denial of his pretrial motion to suppress, and in one issue, he asserts the trial court

erred by denying his requested jury instruction under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article

38.23(a). We affirm the trial court’s judgment. 04-25-00210-CR

BACKGROUND 1

A. Pretrial Motion to Suppress Testimony

Pedraza filed a pretrial motion to suppress the evidence found in his vehicle following a

traffic stop. He alleged his vehicle was searched without a search warrant or probable cause. A

hearing was conducted on the motion, at which two witnesses testified. Trooper Julio Gomez

Velez, with the Texas Department of Public Safety, testified that on January 8, 2024, he was riding

with Trooper Alain Miranda as Miranda’s training officer. As they were on patrol, Velez, who was

in the passenger seat, saw a vehicle with dark window tint heading in the opposite direction. He

told Miranda to turn around to confirm the vehicle had dark window tint before making a traffic

stop. Velez said that once they were alongside the vehicle, he saw the dark window tint, and he

then told Miranda “to drive a little further up,” at which point he saw that the registration sticker

was not properly placed on the lower left side of the windshield. Velez said he told Miranda to

initiate a traffic stop, and Miranda activated the vehicle’s lights.

Velez testified that as he and Miranda exited their vehicle, Pedraza stepped out of his

vehicle (a Suburban), which was “not normal in a traffic stop” and the “normal public doesn’t

usually do that.” Velez said he and Miranda immediately stepped back and opened their doors for

cover. He said they unholstered their duty weapons and commanded Pedraza to stay in the vehicle,

and Pedraza complied.

Velez stated that as Miranda spoke to Pedraza, he looked through the windows. He said he

saw only tools and machinery, and no passenger seats, only a driver’s seat, which he thought was

“weird.” Velez said Pedraza “was giving more information than what Trooper Miranda was asking

1 On appeal, Pedraza does not challenge the validity of the stop or the sufficiency of the evidence in support of the jury’s verdict.

-2- 04-25-00210-CR

him, just unsolicited information, and it just seemed odd.” According to Velez, the “normal public

doesn’t give more information than they have to.” Velez said Pedraza would not directly answer a

question and “was speed-talking” and “stuttering his words.” As Miranda was talking to Pedraza

and asking for proof of insurance and a driver’s license, Miranda looked at Velez and pointed to a

knife on the lower left of the floorboard.

After Miranda finished the interview, Pedraza was asked to exit his vehicle and walk to the

grassy side of the road. As the troopers ran Pedraza’s driver’s license, Velez noticed Pedraza

pacing back and forth, “looking at his vehicle, looking at us, and keeping a distance from [them]

more than usual, more than what in my experience that the normal public intends to do.” When

questioned if asking a driver to exit his car was typical during a traffic stop, Velez said it was not,

but because they saw a knife at Pedraza’s left foot, they did not know if other guns or knives were

in the vehicle; therefore, for officer safety they had him exit the vehicle. Velez testified that they

continued to talk to Pedraza who “just kept talking faster and faster, kept stuttering more [of] his

words, and you could see his mouth start[ed] to dry.” Velez called it “cotton mouth,” which in his

experience happens when a person has excessive adrenaline and nervousness and cannot control

himself. Velez said that, at this point, he believed he had reasonable suspicion that Pedraza was

involved in criminal activity and to ask if they could search Pedraza’s vehicle. When Miranda

asked Pedraza for consent to search his vehicle, Pedraza refused and the officers called for a K-9

unit.

Velez said they waited about ten to twelve minutes for the K-9 unit to arrive, during which

time Pedraza’s demeanor and nervousness “became drastically more excessive,” and he kept

wanting to walk towards his vehicle to get his phone and something to drink and to lock the vehicle

“in order for us not to search” it. Velez said Pedraza was trying to keep them away from his vehicle.

-3- 04-25-00210-CR

Velez stated that when the K-9 unit arrived, Pedraza walked to his vehicle to prevent the

dog’s free-air sniff, and Velez had to forcibly move him out of the way. When the K-9 officer told

Velez that the dog had alerted on the car, Velez detained Pedraza with handcuffs. Velez said

Pedraza resisted the handcuffs “for some time” and the three officers had to hold him down and

secure him in the handcuffs. The officers then searched the vehicle and found a glass pipe

containing residue of methamphetamine, a crystalline white powder they believed to be

methamphetamine, and a handgun. Velez said that after they found the items, they confirmed the

window tint was illegal. He agreed the actual traffic stop was not completed until after the search.

On cross-examination, Velez was asked what factors he considered before he decided to

call for the K-9 unit and he responded, “[d]ue to the totality of the circumstances.” Velez explained

that, in his experience, people do not exit their vehicle unless they are told to do so by an officer.

According to Velez, when a person does that, it is “because when they see an officer right behind

them in a traffic stop, they get so nervous their adrenaline gets so pumped up they cannot stay in

one single place,” especially if they are involved in criminal activity. He said the driver will try to

exit the vehicle to distance themselves from the vehicle, the officer, and the traffic stop in an

attempt to divert the officer from that vehicle.

Velez said Pedraza was shaking uncontrollably and numerous times wanted to re-enter his

vehicle after being told that he could not do so. Ultimately, Velez retrieved Pedraza’s phone from

his vehicle and gave it to him so that he could find proof of insurance. Pedraza started calling other

people, including his mother. Velez said due to the totality of these circumstances, he decided he

had reasonable suspicion to ask for consent and when Pedraza declined, Velez called the K-9 unit.

Velez acknowledged that any one of these circumstances, taken alone, would not provide

reasonable suspicion.

-4- 04-25-00210-CR

The second and final witness to testify at the suppression hearing was Medina County

Sheriff’s Office Officer Jerry Thomas, who was the K-9 handler at the stop. Thomas testified that

when he arrived on scene, he observed the two troopers off to the side of the road talking to

Pedraza.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Fernando Pedraza v. the State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2026).

Fernando Pedraza v. the State of Texas (Fernando Pedraza v. the State of Texas) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Madden v. State
242 S.W.3d 504 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Abdnor v. State
871 S.W.2d 726 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1994)
Hamal, Angela Dodd
390 S.W.3d 302 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2012)
Thomas, Heather
408 S.W.3d 877 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Stairhime, Ryan Matthew
463 S.W.3d 902 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2015)