Opinion ID: 608725
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Witness's Investigation of LeMaux

Text: 38 Vega, Sand and others testified at trial to the initial meeting that occurred in Beverly Hills between Vega and LeMaux to arrange for the importation of cocaine to be distributed in northern California by LeMaux and his organization. During closing the prosecutor argued that Vega, who had testified to connections with the Medellin drug cartel, would not have met with LeMaux without investigating his credentials to be certain he was a reliable and substantial drug dealer. Vega did not testify that he had conducted any such investigation. The government contends that this argument was a reasonable inference from the evidence. Considering Vega's background and Sand's history with LeMaux, it is reasonable to assume that Vega would question Sand about LeMaux's capabilities before risking a whole new distribution scheme. A high-level member of a Colombian cocaine cartel would not have jeopardized his imports, his bosses, and himself by dealing with an unknown. The argument was not improper. See Gray, 876 F.2d at 1417 (finding the inference that the defendant had been hiding in Mexico appropriate from the evidence that he was he was arrested in Mexico three months after a warrant had been issued).