Opinion ID: 3165795
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Specific Acts Attributed to the Defendants

Text: The jury also heard evidence about Espinoza’s and Argueta’s participation in crimes in furtherance of the MS-13 enterprise. The jury learned of Espinoza’s involvement in a nightclub shooting, the basis for Counts 22 and 23, and a murder, the basis for Counts 24 and 25. Only the evidence supporting Counts 22 and 23 is material to this appeal. 3 As regards the nightclub shooting, the government introduced the testimony of Delgado, who confirmed that during a fight at a 3 As regards the murder, the basis for Counts 24 and 25, the government introduced evidence that Espinoza was involved in an armed robbery ending in the death of the victim. Espinoza was acquitted of Counts 24 and 25. 7 Case: 14-11890 Date Filed: 12/28/2015 Page: 8 of 30 nightclub in the summer of 2008, Espinoza shot at a rival gang member, and the testimony of the victim of that shooting, who confirmed that he was jumped by about a dozen MS-13 gang members and shot on the night of July 20, 2008. The government played for the jury video from two surveillance cameras posted outside the nightclub that captured footage of Espinoza retrieving a gun from his car that night. The government also introduced evidence that Espinoza confessed to the 2008 nightclub shooting. A DeKalb County Police Department detective relayed the substance of a subsequent interview with Espinoza. According to the detective, Espinoza confessed that he shot the victim in the stomach and then fled the scene. Contemporaneous with the detective’s testimony, the district court instructed the jury to consider Espinoza’s confession only when determining whether Espinoza was guilty of any crime alleged in the indictment, and not in relation to the charges against Argueta. Based on this and other evidence, the jury convicted Espinoza of RICO Conspiracy (Count 1), VICAR attempted murder (Counts 22), and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence (Count 23). The jury also learned of Argueta’s involvement in the 2007 murder of a drug dealer in a hotel, the basis for Counts 16 and 17, and an overt act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy alleged in Count 1. Former MS-13 member Omar Cubillos, who had pled guilty to the murder, testified that Argueta and another gang member 8 Case: 14-11890 Date Filed: 12/28/2015 Page: 9 of 30 named Hidalgo both hid in a hotel room bathroom with two others waiting for the drug dealer to arrive. According to Cubillos, when the drug dealer arrived, Argueta and Hidalgo jumped out of the bathroom brandishing their guns. Cubillos explained that when the MS-13 gang members demanded drugs and money, a gunfight ensued. Cubillos testified that Argueta fired one or two shots before the gun jammed, at which point Argueta threw the gun to Cubillos who fixed and reloaded the weapon and then shot again towards the drug dealer. According to Cubillos, the MS-13 members, including Argueta, then fled the scene. The drug dealer collapsed just outside the hotel room and ultimately died from a gunshot wound to the torso. Additional evidence the government presented at trial corroborated Cubillos’s testimony. Most significantly, an ICE agent testified that Argueta confessed to his involvement in the shooting during a March 23, 2010 interview— the subject of Argueta’s unsuccessful motion to suppress. In particular, the ICE agent testified that Argueta admitted he hid in the bathroom with a gun, jumped out when the drug dealer arrived, and shot towards the ground near the drug dealer. The district court contemporaneously instructed the jury to consider this confession only as to the charges against Argueta, and not in any way with regard to the charges against Espinoza. 9 Case: 14-11890 Date Filed: 12/28/2015 Page: 10 of 30 In addition, two government witnesses described the hotel shooting and confirmed that Argueta was there with a gun. One of the two witnesses also testified that Argueta’s gun jammed and he threw it to Cubillos, that the drug dealer was shot and collapsed, and that the MS-13 members all fled the scene. Hotel surveillance footage showed, among other things, Argueta arriving at the hotel with other gang members and fleeing with the group after the shooting. 4