Opinion ID: 612831
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Alvarado and Defendant Cesar Acosta-Gallardo

Text: During one of his stays in Utah, Garcia told Alvarado about Acosta-Gallardo, who was from his home town in Mexico and needed a place to live. Alvarado owned several condos and apartments at the time and let one of them to Acosta-Gallardo. Garcia informed Alvarado that Acosta-Gallardo was someone really important in the drugs, that [Acosta-Gallardo] was able to get like big quantities [of drugs], and that [Acosta-Gallardo] was able to be a resource. R., Vol. 3 at 152. Prior to this, Alvarado's main source of methamphetamine had been Juvenal Garcia. Alvarado testified, however, that Juvenal Garcia was unable to get the methamphetamine that Alvarado needed. Id. at 153-54. As a result, in the summer of 2007, Alvarado and Alfredo Garcia began acquiring their methamphetamine from Acosta-Gallardo. Alvarado and Garcia would obtain pounds of methamphetamine from Acosta-Gallardo and resell it to their customers in smaller amounts. Alvarado testified that he purchased methamphetamine from Acosta-Gallardo once every one to two months. Id. at 163. Most of the time, Defendant Acosta-Gallardo would advance Alvarado the methamphetamine on credit and Alvarado would pay him for it later. Id. at 164. Alvarado testified that after he ordered methamphetamine from Acosta-Gallardo, Acosta-Gallardo would contact him a few days later and would then either deliver the methamphetamine himself or send his driver. Alvarado would sometimes help retrieve the methamphetamine from the delivery vehicle, where it was usually concealed in the engine compartment between the windshield and the engine. Alvarado testified that in 2007 and 2008, when he lived in Park City, Utah, his apartment complex had an underground garage where he and Acosta-Gallardo could retrieve the drugs from the vehicle without being seen from the outside. Alvarado stored the methamphetamine he received from Acosta-Gallardo in a brown suitcase that was kept in a closet in his (Alvarado's) residence. Id. at 176-78. Alvarado stored different purchases of methamphetamine in separate containers. Id. at 178-80. At trial, Alvarado was shown a photograph of the contents of the suitcase seized from his apartment. R., Vol. 5, Ex. 115. In the photograph, Alvarado identified three different packages of methamphetamine that he had received from Acosta-Gallardo. R., Vol. 3 at 181-82. Alvarado testified that Acosta-Gallardo had seen the suitcase many times, and that Acosta-Gallardo was aware that Alvarado kept methamphetamine in that suitcase. Id. at 184-85.