Opinion ID: 508421
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 3 On October 18, 1985, at a location approximately 145 miles northwest of the Guajira Penninsula, Colombia, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Unimak approached the tugboat Zeus III, which was towing a barge with a cable about 600 to 700 feet in length. The tug and the barge were not underway. The Coast Guard made radio contact with Zeus III and spoke with defendant Steuben, a German national, who identified himself as the master and captain of the vessel. 4 Steuben, speaking English, informed the Coast Guard that Zeus III was registered in Panama; that the crewmen were Cuban, Colombian, Antiguan, Haitian, and West German; that their last port of call was Bonaire, an island off the coast of Venezuela, which they had left on October 14th; and that their next port of call was Aruba. Steuben told the Coast Guard that the purpose of the voyage was to deliver a dredge barge. He said that they had been in the water for four days due to a hot bearing or oil clog. 5 The Coast Guard asked Steuben if he was in need of assistance, and he replied that he did not need assistance because he had on board a mechanic who could fix the engine. Steuben asked the Coast Guard if they could tell him his exact position. They replied that they could not do so on the radio. The Coast Guard requested permission to board Zeus III for the purpose of providing Steuben with his exact position and checking documentation. Steuben granted the Coast Guard permission to board. 6 Upon boarding the vessel, the Coast Guard proceeded with the document check and questioned Steuben further about the crew members, the ship's country of registration, and the nature and purpose of the voyage. Steuben repeated the same answers regarding the nationalities of the crew members, the ship's country of registration, and the purpose of the voyage. In contrast to what he had said over the radio, however, Steuben told the boarding officers that his last port of call was Cartagena, Colombia; that they had left Cartagena on October 8th; and that his next port of call was Bonaire. When questioned about the contents of the barge, Steuben replied that it was empty, and that he was simply transporting the barge from Cartagena to Bonaire. Steuben supplied the Coast Guard with documents indicating that Zeus III had departed Cartagena on October 8, 1985 and that the vessel was sailing under the flag of Panama. He also presented to the Coast Guard a document, issued in Cartagena, listing the names of the crew. Although the number of crew listed corresponded to the number on board Zeus III, three names on the list were inaccurate. Defendant Neiro was not on the crew list, nor were two co-defendants, Perez and Rodelo, who are not before us in this appeal. 7 Boarding officers also spoke with defendant Neiro, the only other English-speaking crew member, about the nature of the voyage. Neiro explained that they had been at sea for four days, and had been drifting for two days. 8 The Coast Guard then inspected the engine room of Zeus III. With the assistance of defendant Neiro, who served as translator, defendant Caro, the ship's mechanic, showed the officers around the engine room. They inspected holds by unbolting access covers. Caro showed the officers the faulty engine bearing that had caused the engine trouble. The officers inspected two empty fuel oil tanks, but did not check to see how much fuel remained in the other tanks. 9 The boarding officers next obtained permission to board the barge. They observed that it was riding low in the water and showing no navigation lights. Upon boarding the barge, the Coast Guard officers observed that there was nothing on top of it except some boards in the middle held down by angle irons, pieces of iron bolted to the deck. They took off one of the angle irons and spread the boards out. One officer found a small piece of green leafy matter between two of the boards. Searching between the boards, the officers were able to obtain a fistful of the leafy substance. The officers conducted a field test of the substance; it tested positively for marijuana. They then informed Steuben that they had found marijuana on board the barge, and with his permission, they remained on board Zeus III through the evening. 10 That night, officers observed Steuben instructing one of the crew members, Perez, to make radio contact with a party called Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico. Steuben spoke to Perez in broken Spanish. Steuben told one officer that they were attempting to make contact with their agent. 11 The next morning, October 19, 1985, defendant Neiro spoke to the same officer he had spoken to the day before about the nature of the voyage. He was nervous about the fact that marijuana had been found on board the barge. In contrast to his earlier statement that they had been at sea for four days, he said that they had left Cartagena, Colombia nine to ten days earlier. He also said that when they left Cartagena, there was no barge attached to the tug. He repeated his statement that they had been adrift for two days, but added that their next port of call was Bonaire. He stated that he was hired in Cartagena as a seaman aboard Zeus III for $300 and that he knew navigation. 12 The boarding officers observed that the tug was not well-maintained. They also observed radio and radar antennas on the tug. There was a long antenna attached to a short wave radio that had been used to contact Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico. 13 Two Coast Guard officers, accompanied by Steuben, boarded the barge a second time. The officers discovered four access plates under the boards that they had spread apart the previous evening. Upon removing the access covers, which were new and secured with clean, well-greased bolts, the officers discovered a cargo of marijuana stowed in the main hold of the barge. The marijuana was in bales that were well packed and protected with plastic covering. The street value of this marijuana was approximately $42 million. 14 The officers and Steuben returned to the tug with one of the bales of marijuana. Subsequently, the officers observed the crew members using a long distance radio, attempting to contact a party they referred to as Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico. This time contact was made. Later in the afternoon of October 19, the entire crew was placed under arrest. 15 At trial, Coast Guard officers who had intercepted Zeus III testified that all crew members were present when radio contact was made with the party, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico. The conversations were in Spanish. According to the testimony of one officer, who spoke Spanish, Perez told the party, We are unable to continue our voyage at this time because of Coast Guard detainment. We are being searched. When the party asked, What is your status? Perez replied, We have been boarded, they are searching us, they are here with us. The party on the radio then said, Not to worry, we will rendezvous with you later. Defendant Neiro then spoke on the radio and told the party to tell our families not to worry, we are okay, and please do not tell them what is happening. Perez then spoke a second time, stating we cannot continue to talk at this time because they are here with us, they understand us. Defendant Caro then spoke briefly with the party, but there is no testimony about the substance of his conversation. Neiro spoke a second time, stating, Do you see what you have gotten us into now, you stupid.... Defendants Salazar and Steuben were present in the pilot house of the tug with the other crew members when these conversations took place. But neither Salazar nor Steuben spoke directly with the party. 16 Coast Guard Quartermaster Kinney, who was trained in advanced navigation, was the Seizing Officer of the Coast Guard team that boarded Zeus III. He was present when officers asked Steuben on October 18 where he thought the tug was located on October 18. Kinney testified that Steuben pointed to a position on a chart that was laid out on the tug's chart table. According to Kinney, that point was approximately 120 miles south-southeast of the position indicated on Steuben's satellite navigation instrument (SATNAV). The boarding officers brought with them to Zeus III, the position indicated on their own SATNAV, which coincided with the latitude and longitude given on the same instrument aboard Zeus III. Kinney testified that the SATNAV position was the actual position of the vessel. 17 The chart found on the chart table was admitted into evidence as Exhibit 9. It is a nautical chart of the Eastern Part of the Carribean Sea showing the West Indies, from Jamaica to Trinidad, and the North Coast of South America, from the Panama Canal to Venezuela. Examining the chart in view of the jury, Kinney indicated the location of Cartagena, Colombia and the island of Bonaire, to the north and east of Cartagena, off the coast of Venezuela. Kinney marked three points on the chart showing (1) where Zeus III was first sighted by the Coast Guard's aircraft, (2) where the Coast Guard intercepted and boarded the tug and barge (approximately 145 miles directly northwest of the Guajira Peninsula and 20 miles due west of the position where it was first sighted) and (3) where Steuben had indicated to the boarding officers that he thought the vessel was located (approximately 120 miles southeast of the tug's position when seized and 35 miles north of the Guarjira--closer to Aruba and Bonaire than his actual position). 18 The government then directed Officer Kinney's attention to a chart admitted into evidence as Exhibit 10, which the boarding Coast Guard officers found, along with sixteen other charts, underneath the chart table and underneath the bench right next to the chart table. Exhibit 10 is a nautical chart of the North Coast of Colombia and Venezuela. It shows, in more detail than Exhibit 9, the Guajira Peninsula and the islands off the north coast of Venezuela, including Aruba and Bonaire. Puerto Rico and the other islands of the West Indies are not included on the chart. The government again asked Officer Kinney to mark, on Exhibit 10, the locations of Zeus III when it was sighted by the Coast Guard's aircraft and eventually seized, as well as the point where Steuben had estimated his position to be. Kinney testified that there were some track lines on Exhibit 10 representing the intended course of the vessel. He testified that these lines go from Cartagena northerly in the direction of the Santa Marta Peninsula off Colombia and then in a northeasterly direction. Some of the track lines had been erased, but position marks, indicating points on the chart where a vessel had actually been, were visible. The prosecution asked Kinney, [A]ccording to that track line to what specific part of the Caribbean, if at any, are these track lines headed? Kinney answered, These track lines, if you follow them all the way up ... go to the Mona Passage in the southwest corner of Puerto Rico. He also testified that according to his calculations, if one extrapolated the track lines towards the Mona Passage, it passes just about through the position where Zeus III would have been located when it broke down. 19 Kinney was then asked by the government to reexamine Exhibit 9. He testified that there were no track lines on that chart, but that there were some position marks that were visible even though they had been erased. He further stated that some position marks were not erased. Kinney testified that the position marks go in the same direction and show the same general movement of course as the track lines in Exhibit 10. The prosecution then asked: And if a vessel takes that direction, the direction on the maps, where, if at anyplace, would it be heading? Kinney responded, Sir, if it was on the other chart it would be heading to this area of Mona Passage. He further testified that the distance to Mona Passage from the place where Zeus III was seized was approximately 340 miles. 20 On cross-examination, Officer Kinney testified that there was no way of knowing who placed the track lines on Exhibit 10. He also testified that there were position and track marks on the other fifteen charts found aboard Zeus III. 21 Steuben was the only defendant to testify. On direct examination, Steuben explained that the tug's last port of call when it was intercepted by the Coast Guard was Cartagena, Colombia, and that he initially explained to the Coast Guard that Aruba was his next port of call because it was the best port to go to given the tug's engine trouble. On cross-examination, he stated that he could tell the difference between a full barge and an empty barge by the way they would ride in the water, and that he had watched the barge towed behind Zeus III. He maintained that he had thought it was an empty dredge barge. Steuben further testified that his agent or employer was one Walter Bowen, who lived in Miami or Tampa, Florida. 22 The government questioned Steuben about whether he or the members of his crew set foot on the barge at any time. He testified that while in Cartegena, the barge was tied alongside the tug and before reaching the open sea it was necessary to send two or three crewmen aboard the barge to untie lines and then quickly jump aboard the tug as the barge drifted back to be towed. Steuben testified that defendant Neiro was on top of the barge in Cartagena along with either Perez or Salazar, he was not sure which. Describing the crewmen's work in setting the barge into its towing position, Steuben testified that there were two or three persons on the barge: That was Perez who was on the barge and it was Neiro. Then three of them were on the barge.... 23 Steuben testified that he spoke a few words of Spanish and that Neiro spoke some English. Since his other crew members spoke only Spanish, he communicated with them for the most part by using Neiro as a translator. 24 The jury was presented with a stipulation reached by defense counsel and the government stating that laboratory tests performed to determine whether tar found on the crew members' footwear was the same as that on the barge turned up negative. The parties also stipulated that there were approximately 907 bales of marijuana found on the barge towed by Zeus III, weighing, in aggregate, approximately 70,676 pounds.