Opinion ID: 3052677
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: On or about July 14, 2005, defendant

Text: MARITZA OLMEDA DREWREY began transport- ing and moving the July Aliens in a vehicle from the Load House to another location. All in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. [25] The record in this case is replete with evidence of a widespread alien-smuggling conspiracy, which both defendants knowingly agreed to join, and whose scope included the on-going smuggling, harboring, and transporting of illegal aliens. The ledger that law enforcement officers uncovered in Hernandez’s maroon Toyota SUV documented smuggling activities that spanned several days. The government introduced testimony that the ledger contained the names of various drivers, guides, as well as the market rate for smuggling aliens across the border. An alias that Drewry often used, “Diana,” similarly was found in the ledger along with “x 10” and the date “7-07-2005.” Evidence at trial confirmed that Drewry was responsible for arranging the transportation for ten undocumented aliens from Mexico into the United States on July 7, 2007. UNITED STATES v. HERNANDEZ-ORELLANA 11177 The ledger identified additional illegal aliens for whom Drewry had organized cross-border transportation and accommodation at the load house. Included among that information was an undocumented alien who was smuggled on June 30, 2005, twelve aliens on July 1, 2005, two aliens on July 4, 2005, and three aliens on July 11, 2005. According to the ledger, Drewry also owed Hernandez approximately $9,000 for her role in transporting aliens. Similarly, a search of the garage at the load house revealed another journal, which documented the identity of numerous additional aliens transported across the border, foot guides, smugglers, and drivers. Finally, Border Patrol agents searched Drewry’s purse and recovered an envelope with $1,600 — the market rate for smuggling an alien from Mexico into the United States. From the testimony of witnesses, corroborated by information in the ledger and the journal and the incriminating acts and statements of the defendants, we are convinced that there is sufficient evidence from which a jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Hernandez and Drewry entered into a criminal conspiracy which intended to bring aliens into the United States for financial gain and that all coconspirators agreed with each other to do so. Neither Drewry nor Hernandez would have derived any monetary benefit had the undocumented aliens not been crossed in this case. Indeed, both Drewry and Hernandez largely furthered the aims of the conspiracy: they possessed the contacts with smugglers, guides, and drivers, arranged logistics, registered load vehicles in their names, directed the harboring and movement of aliens smuggled to the United States, and collected money, among others things. As noted, the government had to prove and the jury was required to find that at least one overt act was taken in furtherance of the conspiracy. At least one of the overt acts alleged in the indictment encompassed extraterritorial conduct. Specifically, co-conspirators “brought aliens . . . across the Mexican border into the United States.” Based on the evidence and 11178 UNITED STATES v. HERNANDEZ-ORELLANA the language charged in the superseding indictment, the jury easily could have concluded that co-conspirators brought undocumented aliens across the border at which point either Drewry or Hernandez picked them up, harbored them temporarily in a safe haven, arranged for their transportation, or transported them on their way. The evidence presented at trial was more than sufficient to permit the jury to infer that Drewry’s and Hernandez’s compensation for their role in the alien smuggling operation depended entirely on the crossing of those illegal aliens.