Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca5-15-40996/USCOURTS-ca5-15-40996-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Jose Luis Hernandez
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-40996

Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff–Appellee,

versus

JOSE LUIS HERNANDEZ,

Defendant–Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Texas

USDC No. 5:14-CR-816

Before REAVLEY, SMITH, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

A jury convicted Jose Hernandez of possession with intent to distribute 

 

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not 

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH 

CIR. R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

March 17, 2016

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

 Case: 15-40996 Document: 00513427724 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/17/2016
No. 15-40996

2

methamphetamine in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2 and 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and

(b)(1)(A). Hernandez claims the evidence was insufficient to support the

conviction, suggesting that he was an unwitting courier of the methamphetamine. We disagree.

The government was required to prove (1) possession, (2) knowledge, and 

(3) intent to distribute. See United States v. Vasquez, 677 F.3d 685, 694 (5th 

Cir. 2012). Hernandez has challenged only knowledge. 

When the drugs are hidden in a vehicle, control alone is not sufficient to 

prove knowledge. Id. In such a case, we require “additional circumstantial 

evidence that is suspicious in nature or demonstrates guilty knowledge.” Id.

Circumstantial evidence of guilty knowledge includes, among other things, 

“nervousness, refusal or reluctance to answer questions, inconsistent statements, and obvious or remarkable alterations to the vehicle.” Id. at 695. The 

high value of concealed drugs can also support guilty knowledge. Id.

The evidence showed that Hernandez was stopped at a checkpoint driving an SUV with 20.5 kilograms of methamphetamine valued as high as 

$369,000 hidden in the gas tank. When he approached the checkpoint, he 

appeared nervous. Inspection of the vehicle indicated that the rear seats had 

recently been removed, and a hole had been cut into the floor to access the gas 

tank. Hernandez gave several inconsistent statements about who owned the 

SUV and the purpose of his trip to Dallas. Further, after he was informed that 

anomalies had been discovered in the tank, his demeanor changed. The high 

value of the methamphetamine, Hernandez’s nervous behavior, and the recent 

alterations to the vehicle provided circumstantial evidence supporting an 

inference of guilty knowledge. See United States v. Ramos-Rodriguez, 809 F.3d

812, 822, 824 (5th Cir. 2016); United States v. Gil-Cruz, 808 F.3d 274, 278 (5th 

Cir. 2015).

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Other circumstantial evidence from which the jury could infer guilty 

knowledge included the numerous phone calls between the owner of the vehicle, “Martha,” and Hernandez on the day he was arrested; the arrest of his 

acquaintance, Maribel Galaviz, only six weeks before, under almost identical 

circumstances; and Hernandez’s ties to Galaviz, including several trips in the 

Envoy from Mexico to Dallas and the many phone calls between Galaviz and 

Hernandez in the months before their respective arrests. See Gil-Cruz, 

808 F.3d at 277. Evidence of Hernandez’s nervousness, inconsistent statements, and suspicious demeanor, combined with the high value of the methamphetamine, the recent alteration to the SUV, and his ties to Galaviz, viewed in 

the light most favorable to the verdict, was sufficient for the jury to find guilty 

knowledge. See United States v. Kuhrt, 788 F.3d 403, 413–14 (5th Cir. 2015),

cert. denied, No. 15-517, 2016 WL 854223, and cert. denied, No. 15-6608, 

2016 WL 854224 (U.S. Mar. 7, 2016); Vasquez, 677 F.3d at 694–95.

AFFIRMED.

 Case: 15-40996 Document: 00513427724 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/17/2016