Opinion ID: 702515
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 52 Appellants argue that the evidence at trial was not sufficient to sustain the verdict with regard to hostage taking. Because appellant Hernandez raises different issues than the other appellants, we discuss his argument separately. We review the sufficiency of the evidence to determine if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, United States v. Sharif, 817 F.2d 1375, 1377 (9th Cir.1987), and conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support each appellant's hostage taking conviction. 53
54 In order to prove a violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1203(a), the government must show that the defendant: (1) seized or detained another person; (2) threatened to kill, injure, or continue to detain that person; and (3) did so with the purpose of compelling a third person or governmental entity to act in some way, or to refrain from acting in some way. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1203(a); see also Carrion-Caliz, 944 F.2d at 223. 55 Appellants argue that the evidence was insufficient to prove the third element, i.e., that the smuggling fee did not in fact become a ransom intended to compel a third person to do an act (make payment) as a condition for the release of Santos. In Carrion-Caliz, the Fifth Circuit considered a record similar to that in the instant case, and concluded that the third element of the statute was met: 56 Taken in the light most favorable to the Government, the evidence showed that when Carrion spoke to [the victim's sister], he told her that Luisa and her family were in his power, and that they would disappear if [she] did not pay him the money he demanded. Plainly, the jury could have found that he threatened to injure or to kill Luisa and the girls in order to compel [the sister] to pay him. 57 944 F.2d at 223. 58 Appellants attempt to distinguish Carrion-Caliz, arguing that here no demand was made to any other individual, nor was any ransom demand made upon a third party to compel Santos' release. This argument is contradicted by the record. Santos testified that appellant Perez-Garcia told him that he had attempted to call one of Santos' friends and that he had talked to the friend and told him to tell Santos' wife to deliver the money as soon as possible. Santos also testified that he had given his wife's telephone number to the recruiting coyote in Tijuana before he crossed and that appellant Perez-Garcia had attempted to call her to ask her to bring $400 for Santos' release. 59 Appellants' characterization of the smuggling fee as a consensual payment rather than a ransom demand also contradicts Santos' testimony. While it is true that Santos' testimony regarding the specifics of the increase in the smuggling fee was not completely consistent, we must assume that the jury resolved all credibility disputes in favor of the verdict. United States v. Robinson, 967 F.2d 287, 292 (9th Cir.1992). For purposes of the Hostage Taking Act, the amount added to the consensual fee constituted the ransom for Santos' release. That the smuggling fee Santos agreed to pay and his decision to cross the border with the coyotes were originally consensual does not change the nature of his detention and the ransom demand made in California. We agree with the Fifth Circuit's holding in Carrion-Caliz: 60 the Hostage Taking Act does not require that the seizure or detention of the hostage be against the hostage's will from its inception. That is, the fact that the hostage may initially agree to accompany the hostage taker does not prevent a later 'seizure' or 'detention' within the meaning of the Hostage Taking Act. 61 Carrion-Caliz, 944 F.2d at 226. 62 A rational jury considering all of the evidence against appellants Lopez-Flores, Perez-Garcia and Ortiz-Mejia could have found them guilty of hostage taking beyond a reasonable doubt. As all three elements of the offense were adequately established, the evidence was sufficient to support their hostage taking convictions.
63 Hernandez argues that his conviction for hostage taking should be reversed because (1) he was not present on June 5, 1992, when Santos attempted to escape and (2) the jury returned a special finding of fact that the crime of hostage taking was not an object of the conspiracy with which he was charged. Hernandez contends that the evidence was therefore insufficient to find him guilty of hostage taking. 64 Hernandez's hostage taking conviction is supported by the evidence under an aiding and abetting theory of liability. A prosecutor need not charge a separate count for aiding and abetting because [e]very indictment for a federal offense charges the defendant as a principal and as an aider and abettor. United States v. Canon, 993 F.2d 1439, 1442 (9th Cir.1993). 5 To convict a defendant of aiding and abetting, the government must prove that the defendant 65 willingly associated himself with a criminal venture and participated therein as something he wished to bring about.... An abettor's criminal intent may be inferred from the attendant facts and circumstances and need not be established by direct evidence. 66 United States v. Cloud, 872 F.2d 846, 850 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1002, 110 S.Ct. 561, 107 L.Ed.2d 556 (1989). 67 Hernandez points to the fact that he was not present at the scene of the crime on June 5, 1992, the day Santos escaped. However, the crime of hostage taking took place throughout the several days Santos was detained at the drop house. Hernandez aided and abetted the hostage taking during that period: he guarded the aliens with a gun that was registered to him; he beat Santos with a gun because he feared that Santos was causing trouble with the other detainees by discussing the increased smuggling fee with them; and a vehicle that was registered to Hernandez was used to transport the smuggled aliens. A reasonable jury could have found Hernandez guilty of hostage taking beyond a reasonable doubt under an aiding and abetting theory of liability. 68 The district court's judgment is AFFIRMED.