Opinion ID: 539884
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence to convict Duque and Carricaburu.

Text: 65 Duque and Carricaburu contend that the government introduced insufficient evidence to convict them of any of the charges against them. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, we disagree. Bell testified that he made numerous deliveries of cocaine for Gorny, and that Carricaburu was his contact. Bell also testified that Duque and Carricaburu kidnapped him because he had been unable to collect money due them for a cocaine delivery he had made. This testimony, in itself, was sufficient to show that Duque and Carricaburu sold cocaine to Gorny during the conspiracy. 66 Duque and Carricaburu insist, however, that we must disregard Bell's testimony because it was inherently unbelievable. According to Duque and Carricaburu, Bell had ample motive to lie (he had pleaded guilty in exchange for his cooperation) and admitted perjuring himself before the grand jury investigating this case. They also point out that Bell's cross-examination revealed several inconsistencies between his trial testimony and his grand jury testimony. Duque and Carricaburu assert that without Bell's testimony, there was not enough evidence to convict them. 67 This argument is meritless. Bell's testimony was not inherently unbelievable in the sense that it contradicted the laws of nature or other indisputably true evidence. See United States v. Dunigan, 884 F.2d at 1013. There were some inconsistencies in Bell's testimony, but those inconsistencies were for the jury to sort out. Those inconsistencies were, for the most part, minor, and Bell explained them on redirect examination. And Carricaburu's and Duque's reference to Bell as an admitted perjurer is overblown and misleading. On cross-examination, Duque's attorney asked Bell if he had committed perjury before the grand jury; Bell answered yes. But upon further questioning, Bell stated that he had not knowingly committed perjury. It is apparent from this that Bell did not know what perjury is, and that he thought that anytime he testified inaccurately he had committed perjury. Even if Bell had admitted perjuring himself before the grand jury, the jury would still have been entitled to believe his trial testimony. 68 Moreover, the evidence of Duque's and Carricaburu's involvement in the attempted sale on April 8, 1986, is particularly strong. Bell testified that on April 7 he registered in Room 1018 at the O'Hare Plaza Hotel in Chicago. The DEA agents who arrested Bell found a key for that room at the O'Hare Plaza in his pocket. Bell testified that around noon on April 8, Carricaburu came to his room and told him they arrived and our room number is 725 [at the O'Hare Plaza]. Bell said he wrote the number on the hotel note pad; along with the room key, the agents who arrested Bell found a piece of note paper from the O'Hare Plaza with the number 725 in his pocket. Bell went to Room 725, and took several packages from Duque and Carricaburu. He then took a cab to Woodfield Mall, where he was arrested after DEA agent Fanter determined that the bag he had placed in a locker at the mall contained cocaine. 69 Bell's testimony, corroborated by physical evidence and by Agent Fanter's testimony, was sufficient in itself to convict Duque and Carricaburu. But there is much more. The O'Hare Plaza's manager testified that a Spanish-speaking woman identifying herself as Mrs. Duque tried to register at the hotel but was unable to complete the registration form. A man then came in, completed the form, and signed the form as Humberto Duque. A handwriting expert identified the writing as Duque's. Two men were with Duque, one of whom the manager identified as Carricaburu. Carricaburu was carrying an attache case. 70 After Bell's arrest, DEA agent Alphonse Savory saw a man enter Room 725 at the O'Hare Plaza. Upon questioning the man's wife, he found out the man's name was Manuel Mantia. The woman told Savory that she and Mantia were in town celebrating Christmas (on April 8!). Savory went to Room 725 and found Duque, Carricaburu, and Mantia there. Duque told federal agents that he was staying in Room 3132 at the Chicago Marriott. Agents found a number of items on Duque and Carricaburu at the time of their arrests, including a key and receipt for Room 3132 at the Marriott, pieces of false identification, and records showing they had just traveled from Florida to Chicago. Duque's phone book contained phone numbers for Carricaburu and Bell. Agents also searched Mantia's car, which was registered to somebody in New York (the state that Gorny had told Fanter the cocaine would be coming from). The agents found a hidden compartment in the car to which trained narcotics-sniffing dogs alerted positively. 71 Finally, the government introduced tapes of several phone calls Gorny made on April 8. Gorny called Room 3132 at the Marriott (Duque's room) and said, I want to be ready by noon. He called Room 1018 at the O'Hare Plaza (Bell's room) and said, You'll hear from me ... in a little bit. He called Room 3132 again and said, Humberto? ... [t]ake this number six nine three, five eight zero zero room ten eighteen [1018] that's Walter [Bell] ... take a five out there okay ... its right by the airport ... be fast.... Gorny made another call, saying, Call Walt and tell him to call me as soon as [it] gets there, and another, to Bell, telling him that George is supposed to get a hold of you, when he does call me ... he should call within the half.... According to Petersen, who was with Gorny when he made the calls, Gorny was putting the deal together. 72 This overwhelming evidence implicated Duque and Carricaburu in the April 8 attempted sale. Bell's testimony about the deal and all the other evidence that corroborated that testimony strengthened the inference that Bell was telling the truth about the other events he testified about, including the kidnapping. In short, there was ample evidence to convict Duque and Carricaburu.