Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-03561/USCOURTS-ca8-05-03561-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Victor Sanchez-Garcia
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-3561

___________

United States of America, *

*

Plaintiff - Appellee, *

* 

v. * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the

Victor Sanchez-Garcia, also known as * District of Nebraska.

Sergio Barraza-Ayon, also known as *

Mauricio Borjas-Madrid, *

*

Defendant - Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: March 14, 2006

Filed: September 5, 2006

___________

Before ARNOLD, JOHN R. GIBSON and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

___________

JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge.

Victor Sanchez-Garcia was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess

with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with

intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession of a

firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense. On appeal, he argues that there was

insufficient evidence to submit the conspiracy and firearms charges to the jury and

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1

The Honorable Laurie Smith Camp, United States District Judge for the

District of Nebraska.

2

At trial, Balli could not recall the name on the identification produced during

the traffic stop.

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that the district court1

 erred by finding beyond a reasonable doubt that he was

previously convicted of a felony drug offense. We affirm. 

In June 2003, Agent Gil Balli, a narcotics investigator with the Federal Bureau

of Investigations, received a tip from a cooperating informant that an illegal alien

named Mauricio Borjas, who resided at an apartment at 6761 "A" Plaza, was involved

in narcotics-related activity in and around Omaha, Nebraska. The informant described

the suspect as a 5'10" Hispanic male in his mid-twenties with a slim build who drove

either a green compact car or a black Grand Prix or Grand Am. Balli relayed this

information to Agent Ovidio De La Fuente of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs

Enforcement to advise him that Borjas may be in the United States illegally and to

request that De La Fuente check into the individual's immigration status.

Agent Balli and another officer set up surveillance on a black Grand Prix

parked outside the suspect’s apartment building. Shortly thereafter, an individual

matching the suspect's description left the apartment building, got into the black

Grand Prix, and drove out of the parking lot at a high rate of speed. The officers

followed the suspect in their unmarked cars, and, after observing several instances of

erratic driving, Agent Balli activated his lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop. 

Balli approached the vehicle, displayed his badge, and identified himself in

Spanish and English. Upon request, the driver produced identification, although it

differed from the name that the informant had provided.2

 Speaking in Spanish, Balli

told the suspect that he had reason to believe that he was in the country illegally and

involved in illegal activity. The suspect agreed to cooperate with the investigation and

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went with Agent Balli to his unmarked police car. After again advising the suspect

of the nature of the investigation, Balli requested permission to search the vehicle, as

well as the suspect's apartment and the accompanying detached garage. The suspect

agreed, provided Agent Balli with directions to the apartment, and identified which

keys on his key ring opened the apartment and garage. A contemporaneous search of

the suspect uncovered $1,135 in cash: fifty-six $20s, one $10, and one $5.

While Balli was speaking with the suspect, Agent De La Fuente arrived on the

scene, having conducted a records check on Mauricio Borjas. As part of that records

check, De La Fuente obtained a copy of Borjas' file, complete with a set of

fingerprints, a photograph, and a list of the four different aliases Mauricio BorjasMadrid was known to have employed. Upon his arrival at the scene, De La Fuente

showed the photograph to Balli and the suspect. According to De La Fuente, the

suspect "just put his head down" when he was presented with the photograph, despite

previously maintaining that his name was "Victor Sanchez."

While Sanchez-Garcia was being transported to the police station, Agent Balli

and several other Omaha police officers left the scene and proceeded to his apartment.

There, they knocked and announced their presence and after receiving no response

used Sanchez-Garcia's keys to enter the apartment and begin their search. Inside a

kitchen cabinet, officers found a digital scale and a cell phone box containing

approximately 886.5 grams of methamphetamine. Inside the kitchen drawers, officers

found two identification cards bearing the names Jabier S. Gamez and Jose Eladio

Borjas-Madrid, a Cox Communications bill addressed to Sanchez-Garcia's girlfriend,

Maria Garcia, and titles to a green Ford Thunderbird LX and a black Pontiac Grand

Prix. On a shelf in the bedroom closet, officers found a Hi-Point .40 caliber handgun

along with a letter addressed to Maria Garcia and Mauricio Borjas Garcia. Inside a

cardboard box in the detached garage belonging to the apartment, an officer found a

ziplock bag containing 145.7 grams of crystal "ice" methamphetamine along with

some drug packaging materials.

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Later, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment, which mirrored the

charges in the original indictment but contained a further factual finding that SanchezGarcia possessed a dangerous weapon in connection with the narcotics distribution

offense.

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The handgun and the packaging materials were sent to the Douglas County

crime lab to be tested for fingerprints. The investigator conducting the test was unable

to recover any identifiable fingerprints from the packaging material but was able to

lift a latent fingerprint from the trigger guard on the gun. The fingerprint matched that

of an individual named Luis Borjas-Madrid, who the investigator learned went by

several aliases, including Victor Sanchez-Garcia. Upon comparing the fingerprint

cards of Luis Borjas-Madrid and Sanchez-Garcia, the investigator determined that the

fingerprints were identical.

About a week after the traffic stop, De La Fuente transported Sanchez-Garcia

to the immigration office for further questioning. During that interview, SanchezGarcia told De La Fuente that he had last entered the United States in January 2002

and had been continuously unemployed since that time. De La Fuente also took two

pieces of identification from Sanchez-Garcia: a Mexican driver's license issued May

20, 2002 and a Mexican voter's card; De La Fuente observed certain irregularities with

both cards and concluded that they were both counterfeit. During a follow-up

investigation, Agent De La Fuente sent the fingerprint card from Borjas-Madrid's file

to the Omaha Police Department's crime lab for a comparison with Sanchez-Garcia's

fingerprints; the comparison showed that they were a match.

A Nebraska grand jury returned a three-count indictment charging SanchezGarcia with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of

methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1); being an illegal

alien in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5)(A); and criminal

forfeiture pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853.3

 Following Sanchez-Garcia's plea of not

guilty, trial commenced on October 12, 2004. At trial the government presented the

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testimony of Balli, De La Fuente, and the crime lab investigator. In addition, the

government called Omaha police officer Mark Negrete, who testified about an

incident in March 2003, two months before the traffic stop, when he had arrested an

individual named Luis Enrique Borjas-Madrid and found approximately $4,500 in his

possession, consisting of twenty-eight $100s, one $50, eighty-two $20s, two $10s,

four $5s, and one $1.

The government also called Mark Langan, a retired Omaha Police sergeant with

18 years of experience in narcotics, to testify as an expert on methamphetamine

distribution. According to Langan, the typical amount of methamphetamine bought

for personal use was approximately one gram. He testified that the vast majority of

methamphetamine entering Omaha in June 2003 was produced in "mega labs" in

Mexico and then smuggled across the border by people known as "mules." Langan

identified two principal forms of methamphetamine—a low purity form known as

"street dope" and a high purity form known as "ice"—and then estimated that in June

2003 one gram of street dope sold for $60, while one gram of ice sold for $100 or

$120. Langan testified that digital scales, large sums of cash—predominately in the

form of $20 bills—packaging materials, and firearms were common to the drug trade.

Lastly, he testified that drug dealers in the area often utilize a variety of tactics to

avoid detection by police and being "ripped off" by other dealers, including moving

frequently, using firearms, and employing multiple aliases. Having reviewed the

reports in connection with Sanchez-Garcia's arrest, Langan opined that, based on the

large quantities of methamphetamine, the presence of a digital scale and a firearm at

the apartment, and the large amount and type of cash found on Sanchez-Garcia's

person at the time of his arrests, Sanchez-Garcia was involved in the distribution of

methamphetamine.

In his defense Sanchez-Garcia presented, through an interpreter, the testimony

of his girlfriend, Maria Garcia, and her mother, Gloria Marin. Garcia testified that she

had met the defendant, whom she knew as both Sanchez-Garcia and Mauricio BorjasAppellate Case: 05-3561 Page: 5 Date Filed: 09/05/2006 Entry ID: 2085692
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Madrid, in October 2000, and that the couple had one child together, Mauricio Alberto

Borjas Garcia. Garcia testified that she and Sanchez-Garcia, accompanied by the

couple's son, made two separate trips to Mexico in late 2002 and early 2003, in order

to visit family there. On each trip, Garcia and her son would reenter the United States

without Sanchez-Garcia because he lacked proper documentation. Garcia's mother,

who also knew Sanchez-Garcia as Mauricio Borjas, corroborated some aspects of

Garcia's testimony about the trips, although the government was able to highlight a

number of inconsistencies on cross-examination.

On October 18, 2004, the jury found Sanchez-Garcia guilty of being an illegal

alien in possession of a firearm. However, it was unable to reach a verdict on the

possession with intent to distribute charge, which led the court to declare a mistrial on

that charge. Two days later, the grand jury returned a second superseding indictment

charging Sanchez-Garcia with: (1) conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to

distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§

841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1); (2) possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more

of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1) and 846; (3)

possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense, in violation of 18

U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A); and (4) criminal forfeiture pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853. Before

the second trial, the government filed an "Information to Establish Prior Conviction"

pursuant to 21 U.S.C. §851, which alleged that Sanchez-Garcia, under the name of

Mauricio Borjas-Madrid, had been convicted of a felony drug offense on July 12,

2000, in the Superior Court for Maricopa County, Arizona.

The second trial commenced on May 17, 2005, during which the parties

presented substantially the same evidence as the first trial, save for the testimony of

Agent De La Fuente, who was not called as a witness at the second trial. The jury

returned guilty verdicts on all three substantive counts, specifically finding SanchezGarcia responsible for 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and the district court

entered a final order on the forfeiture count. The presentence report assigned

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Sanchez-Garcia an offense level of 32 with a criminal history category of III, resulting

in a recommended sentencing range of 151 to 188 months. However, that range

increased to 240 months to life imprisonment on account of Sanchez-Garcia's prior

felony drug conviction. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b).

Sanchez-Garcia filed objections to the presentence report, challenging his base

offense level and denying the use of the various aliases the report attributed to him.

He also filed a timely "Denial of Information to Establish Prior Conviction," arguing

that he was not the individual convicted of the Arizona drug offense. See 21 U.S.C.

§ 851(c). During an evidentiary hearing on the prior conviction, the government

submitted a certified copy of the prior conviction of Mauricio Borjas-Madrid. The

district court compared Sanchez-Garcia with the photograph of Mauricio BorjasMadrid from the Arizona conviction and found that the two were the same person.

Finding that the government had proved Sanchez-Garcia's prior conviction beyond a

reasonable doubt, the district court overruled the remainder of his objections and

adopted the presentence report. The district court later sentenced Sanchez-Garcia to

240 months' imprisonment for the conspiracy charge and the possession with intent

to distribute charge, each to run concurrently, and 60 months for the firearm

possession charge, to run consecutively with the other terms of imprisonment. This

appeal followed.

On appeal, Sanchez-Garcia first argues that there was insufficient evidence to

support his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of

500 grams of methamphetamine. "When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence

to support a conspiracy conviction, we will affirm if the record, viewed most

favorably to the government, contains substantial evidence supporting the jury's

verdict, which means evidence sufficient to prove the elements of the crime beyond

a reasonable doubt." United States v. Lopez, 443 F.3d 1026, 1030 (8th Cir. 2006) (en

banc). To convict a defendant of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance, there

must be sufficient evidence that: (1) a conspiracy existed for an illegal purpose; (2)

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the defendant knew of the conspiracy; and (3) the defendant knowingly joined in it.

United States v. Tensley, 334 F.3d 790, 794 (8th Cir. 2003). The conspiracy's

existence may be proved by direct or circumstantial evidence, although the

government often relies upon the latter "due to an illegal conspiracy's 'necessary

aspect of secrecy.'" Id. (quoting United States v. Robinson, 217 F.3d 560, 564 (8th

Cir. 2000)). "A defendant challenging the sufficiency of the evidence in a conspiracy

case has a heavy burden." United States v. Mickelson, 378 F.3d 810, 821 (8th Cir.

2004).

Sanchez-Garcia contends that there was insufficient evidence of his

participation in a conspiracy to traffic in methamphetamine because there was no

evidence of an agreement between him and any would-be co-conspirator. He argues

that the evidence at trial established only that police recovered a digital scale and a

large amount of methamphetamine in the apartment and detached garage over which

he maintained control; there was no evidence that Sanchez-Garcia was involved with

any other person, which he argues was required for the jury to infer that he was a

participant in any conspiracy. The government responds that the evidence was

sufficient for the jury to conclude that Sanchez-Garcia was engaged in a conspiracy

to distribute methamphetamine, even in the absence of evidence regarding any of

Sanchez-Garcia's alleged co-conspirators.

It is axiomatic that an agreement between two or more persons is the "essence"

of a conspiracy. United States v. West, 15 F.3d 119, 121 (8th Cir. 1994). However,

"[t]he fact that the identity of some or all other members of the conspiracy remains

unknown will not preclude a conspiracy conviction." United States v. Agofsky, 20

F.3d 866, 870 (8th Cir. 1994). Indeed, "[o]ur cases have sustained conspiracy

convictions when all conspirators other than the defendant were unknown so long as

the government has produced evidence supporting a reasonable inference of

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conspiracy." United States v. Mendoza-Gonzalez, 363 F.3d 788, 796 (8th Cir. 2004)

(citing United States v. Nelson, 165 F.3d 1180, 1184 (8th Cir. 1999)). 

Here, the digital scale, packaging materials, and large quantity of

methamphetamine, a substantial portion of which was of the high-quality variety

typically associated with resale rather than personal use, were all found in SanchezGarcia's apartment without any indication of methamphetamine manufacturing or

personal use. These circumstances give rise to a reasonable inference that a

conspiracy existed between Sanchez-Garcia and at least one unidentified seller and at

least one unidentified buyer of methamphetamine. See Mendoza-Gonzalez, 363 F.3d

at 796 (holding that the jury could reasonably infer existence of a conspiracy where

evidence made it unlikely that the defendant grew, processed, packaged, and loaded

the large quantities of drugs involved without assistance or that the drugs were

intended for individual use). The reasonable inference that a conspiracy existed is

further bolstered by the significant amount of cash in denominations associated with

drug trafficking found on Sanchez-Garcia's person, his use of multiple aliases, and his

keeping of a loaded, hi-caliber handgun in the apartment, all of which led the expert

to opine that Sanchez-Garcia was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine.

In addition, the evidence of Sanchez-Garcia's two trips to Mexico in the months

leading up to his June 2003 arrest, the fact that although his family accompanied him

to Mexico he would illegally re-enter the United States separately from his girlfriend

and son, and Sgt. Langan's testimony that during the period of Sanchez-Garcia's arrest

large quantities of methamphetamine in Omaha were produced in "mega labs" in

Mexico and then smuggled across the border, all supported the government's theory

that Sanchez-Garcia was a "mule" acting as part of a coordinated scheme to smuggle

methamphetamine into the country for later distribution there.

When viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, we conclude that

this was sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could have adopted the

government's theory and concluded that Sanchez-Garcia was not working alone. The

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failure to identify whom he was working with is not fatal to the government's case.

See Mendoza-Gonzalez, 363 F.3d at 796; Agofsky, 20 F.3d at 870. Accordingly, we

affirm the conspiracy conviction. 

Sanchez-Garcia also argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his

conviction for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. To

secure a conviction under § 924(c)(1)(A), the government must present evidence from

which a reasonable juror could find a "nexus" between the defendant's possession of

the charged firearm and the drug crime, such that this possession had the effect of

"furthering, advancing or helping forward" the drug crime. United States v. Hamilton,

332 F.3d 1144, 1149-50 (8th Cir. 2003). Accordingly, evidence that the defendant

simultaneously possessed drugs and a firearm, standing alone, would not warrant

submitting the charge to the jury. United States v. Spencer, 439 F.3d 905, 914 (8th

Cir. 2006) (quoting Hamilton, 332 F.3d at 1150)). Instead, the jury must be able to

infer that the defendant's possession of the firearm facilitated the drug crime, through

evidence that the firearm was used for protection, was kept near the drugs, or was in

close proximity to the defendant during drug transactions. United States v. Thorpe,

447 F.3d 565, 568 (8th Cir. 2006); Spencer, 439 F.3d at 914-15. 

When viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, the evidence

presented at trial was sufficient to permit a reasonable juror to find the required nexus

between the loaded, Hi-Point .40 caliber handgun found in Sanchez-Garcia's

apartment and the drug trafficking conspiracy charged. Police found the loaded

firearm in the apartment's only bedroom, which was directly adjacent to the kitchen

where police found quantities of methamphetamine in excess of that associated with

personal use and a digital scale of the type commonly employed in the packaging and

distribution of methamphetamine. Moreover, Sgt. Langan testified as to the role of

firearms in protecting drug dealers, their drugs, and their business, a role that this

court has long recognized. See United States v. Espinosa, 300 F.3d 981, 984 (8th Cir.

2002). From the loaded weapon's proximity to saleable quantities of drugs and drug

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packaging paraphernalia and Sgt. Langan's expert testimony regarding the use of

firearms in methamphetamine trafficking, the jury could have reasonably concluded

that Sanchez-Garcia kept the weapon readily accessible to protect his drugs and his

drug trafficking activities, thereby facilitating the charged drug crime. This was

sufficient to support his conviction under § 924(c). 

With respect to his sentence, Sanchez-Garcia challenges the district court's

finding beyond a reasonable doubt that he was previously convicted of a felony drug

offense under the name of Mauricio Borjas-Madrid. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)

(imposing heightened penalty where crime committed after previous conviction for

felony drug offense). It is by now well-established that the sentencing court may,

consistent with the Sixth Amendment, find both the fact of a prior conviction, as well

as facts "intimately related" to that prior conviction. United States v. Carrillo-Beltran,

424 F.3d 845, 847-48 (8th Cir. 2005), cert. denied, 126 S.Ct. 1384 (2006). Whether

a prior conviction under an alias is attributable to the defendant is such an "intimately

related" fact. Id. at 848. Where, as here, the defendant files a timely objection to the

prior conviction, the government is required to prove the existence of the prior

conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. See 21 U.S.C. § 851(c). We review the

district court's factual findings on the issue for clear error. Carrillo-Beltran, 424 F.3d

at 847. 

At a hearing on the §851 enhancement, the government offered a photograph

and other identifying information for Mauricio Borjas-Madrid. The sentencing court

observed that if she were restricted to comparing this photograph with the current

photograph of Sanchez-Garcia included in the presentence investigation report, "there

could be some question as to whether or not this is the same individual." However,

because Sanchez-Garcia was present during the hearing, the court was able to conduct

an in-person comparison with the photograph of Mauricio Borjas-Madrid. After doing

so, the court determined that it was Sanchez-Garcia depicted in the earlier

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In conducting its comparison, the court stated:

However, we have the defendant here in court, and I will state for the

record that in looking at the defendant here in court and looking at the

photograph on Exhibit 201, it frankly appears to me that unless this is a

photograph of a twin brother, this is, in fact, the defendant who appears

in Exhibit 201, and I believe that it is not improper for me to take judicial

notice of what the defendant looks like. 

(Tr. 556).

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photograph.4

 Based on this finding, as well as the evidence presented at trial

connecting Sanchez-Garcia to the alias of Mauricio Borjas-Madrid, the district court

found that the government had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Sanchez-Garcia

was the individual previously convicted of a felony drug offense under the name of

Mauricio Borjas-Madrid.

Without citation to authority, Sanchez-Garcia argues that the effect of the

district court's in-court comparison "was to make the trial judge a fact witness" in

violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 605. This argument is without merit. In

making factual findings in support of a particular sentence, a district court may

consider any evidence that has "sufficient indicia of reliability to support the

conclusion that it is probably accurate." United States v. Sharpfish, 408 F.3d 507, 511

(8th Cir. 2005). Here, the district court's visual comparison was a sufficiently reliable

method for resolving the factual dispute over whether Sanchez-Garcia and Mauricio

Borjas-Madrid were the same person. Far from acting as a government witness, the

district court acted as fact-finder, just as it would when observing a witness's

demeanor to resolve questions regarding the witness's credibility. Accordingly, there

was no violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 605. 

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Moreover, the district court's finding beyond a reasonable doubt that SanchezGarcia was the individual previously convicted of a felony drug offense under the

name Mauricio Borjas-Madrid was not clearly erroneous. In addition to the in-person

comparison, the district court relied on the evidence presented at trial suggesting that

Sanchez-Garcia and Mauricio Borjas-Madrid were the same person. United States v.

Bledsoe, 445 F.3d 1069, 1073 (8th Cir. 2006) ("Having presided over the trial, the

district court was entitled to rely on this evidence at sentencing."). This evidence

included Sanchez-Garcia's known use of the alias and the fingerprint analysis

matching his fingerprints with those in the immigration file associated with Mauricio

Borjas-Madrid. See United States v. Urbina-Mejia, 450 F.3d 838, 840 (8th Cir. 2006)

(holding fingerprint database sufficiently reliable for sentencing court to find that the

defendant was convicted of a previous crime). Based on this evidence, we cannot

conclude that the district court committed clear error in finding beyond a reasonable

doubt that Sanchez-Garcia and Mauricio Borjas-Madrid were the same person and

attributing the previous felony drug conviction to Sanchez-Garcia accordingly.

The judgment of the district court is affirmed.

______________________________

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