U.S. v. Issac-Sigala, 05-2089.

• Decision Date: 30 May 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-2089.,05-2089.
• Citation: 448 F.3d 1206
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Rafael ISAAC-SIGALA, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

448 F.3d 1206

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Rafael ISAAC-SIGALA, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 05-2089.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

May 30, 2006.

Scott M. Davidson, Albuquerque, NM, for Defendant-Appellant.

Terri J. Abernathy, Assistant United States Attorney (David C. Iglesias, United States Attorney with her on the brief), Las Cruces, NM, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Before LUCERO, ANDERSON, and TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judges.

LUCERO, Circuit Judge.

This case asks whether a conviction for conspiring to smuggle narcotics and aiding and abetting the distribution of narcotics must be overturned when there is substantial evidence that the defendant drove a scout vehicle for a drug smuggler but where there is only circumstantial evidence that he knew the specific contents of the smuggler's van. Because we conclude that the evidence reasonably supports the jury's conclusion that the defendant knowingly advanced the essential objectives of the conspiracy, we exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and AFFIRM.

I

In the early morning hours of December 5, 2002, a white van hauling an empty flat bed trailer approached an immigration checkpoint near Alamagordo, New Mexico. Behind the wheel sat Mario Meija-Nunez; Pedro Aguilar-Guerra was at his side in the passenger seat. The Border Patrol Agent on duty, Mark Bazill, asked Meija-Nunez for identification, and the occupants retrieved immigration documents. While Agent Bazill reviewed the documents, Meija-Nunez volunteered that he and Aguilar-Guerra were car haulers traveling to Ruidoso, New Mexico, where they intended to pick up cars for resale in Mexico. This surprised Agent Bazill, because, during his six years on the border patrol, he had never encountered car haulers destined for Ruidoso. In his experience, car haulers usually travel to places where car auctions are held such as Denver, Kansas, and Michigan.

Agent Bazill asked for permission to search the van and Meija-Nunez assented. While examining the roof of the van, Agent Bazill noticed fresh tool marks on the screws of the center panel. Because these marks indicated recent tampering with the roof panel, Agent Bazill suspected that the ceiling of the van was concealing narcotics. He referred the van to the secondary inspection area at the checkpoint, and the van was taken off the highway.

During the secondary inspection of the white van, Agent Bazill interviewed the two men. Meija-Nunez repeated that he and his companion were on their way to Ruidoso to collect previously purchased vehicles. When asked what vehicles they had purchased, Meija-Nunez answered "a Dodge van." Meanwhile, after dogs alerted to the smell of contraband coming from the van, two agents drilled into its ceiling and uncovered 96.4 net pounds (43 kilograms) of marijuana. Meija-Nunez and Aguilar-Guerra were placed under arrest, and their personal belongings were inventoried. A two-way hand held radio was recovered from Meija-Nunez's jacket pocket.

About ten minutes later, while the white van was in the secondary inspection area, a blue van driven by Rafael Isaac-Sigala approached the checkpoint. Another Border Patrol Agent, David Blasquez, was now monitoring the checkpoint in Agent Bazill's absence. At the time the blue van approached, Agent Bazill had not yet spoken with Agent Blasquez about the marijuana discovered in the white van. Agent Blasquez proceeded to interview Isaac-Sigala, who also stated that he was en route to Ruidoso to purchase vehicles. Like Agent Bazill, Agent Blasquez considered this small town an unusual destination for car haulers.

Noticing that the blue van displayed a temporary registration tag, Agent Blasquez asked where Isaac-Sigala worked. Isaac-Sigala responded by producing an identification card from Cereceres Auto Sales in El Paso, Texas. Agent Blasquez referred the blue van to secondary inspection, and after a canine examining the van did not alert, Isaac-Sigala drove away from the checkpoint.

Shortly after Isaac-Sigala drove away, Agent Blasquez spoke to Meija-Nunez and Aguilar-Guerra. When he learned that they were also going to Ruidoso on a car haul, Agent Blasquez radioed an agent on patrol duty that night, Agent Javier Ramirez, and asked him to intercept the blue van. Agent Ramirez discovered the blue van approximately 20 miles north of the checkpoint, traveling south, towards the checkpoint, instead of north, towards Ruidoso.

Agent Ramirez stopped the blue van, and asked Isaac-Sigala if he was headed towards Ruidoso. Isaac-Sigala replied that he was lost. Explaining that he would like to question Isaac-Sigala about a vehicle that was being held at the checkpoint, Agent Ramirez asked Isaac-Sigala for permission to search the blue van and to follow Agent Ramirez back to the checkpoint. Isaac-Sigala assented to both requests. In the course of searching the van for weapons, Agent Ramirez recovered a two-way hand held radio.

During Agent Ramirez's search of the van, another Border Patrol Agent, Julio Baray, spoke with Isaac-Sigala. Agent Baray explained that another van was being held at the immigration checkpoint and its driver had told agents that he was heading to Ruidoso to purchase vehicles. Agent Baray then asked if Isaac-Sigala was traveling with anybody else. Isaac-Sigala stated that he was not. Agent Baray asked Isaac-Sigala specifically whether he was following the other van. Isaac-Sigala denied doing so.

Once Isaac-Sigala had been escorted back to the checkpoint, Agent Ramirez informed Agent Bazil that he had found a two-way radio inside Isaac-Sigala's van. The agents observed that the radio found in Meija-Nunez's van was the same make and model as the one recovered from Isaac-Sigala's van. After switching on the radios and speaking to one another, the agents confirmed that the radios were set to the same frequency as well. When Agent Baray showed Isaac-Sigala the white van Meija-Nunez had been driving and asked if he had been following it, Isaac-Sigala again denied traveling with any other vehicle and claimed that he did not know the driver of the white van.

Further evidence that the two vans were working together was discovered shortly thereafter. In the center console of the white van, another border patrol agent, Agent Claude Claflin, discovered a bill of sale for the blue van that Isaac-Sigala was driving. A temporary tag affixed to the trailer that the white van was towing displayed the name "Cereceres Auto Sales." An Alamagordo police officer later assigned to handle the forfeiture of both vehicles determined that Isaac-Sigala's blue van was also registered to Cereceres Auto Sales. This same officer attempted to reach Cereceres by mail, and when his notice of forfeiture was returned, he traveled to the address on record and found no business by that name at that location.

A federal grand jury in the District of New Mexico returned a two-count indictment against Isaac-Sigala. Count 1 charged him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(D), and 21 U.S.C. § 846. Count 2 charged possession with intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(D), and 18 U.S.C. § 2. Aguilar-Guerra and Meija-Nunez were named as co-defendants and charged with the same two counts.

Isaac-Sigala and Aguilar-Guerra proceeded to trial; Meija-Nunez remained a fugitive. At the close of trial, the jury convicted Isaac-Sigala of both counts and acquitted Aguilar-Guerra on both counts. The district court later sentenced Isaac-Sigala to concurrent 33-month sentences. Isaac-Sigala appeals.

II

Isaac-Sigala argues that insufficient evidence supports both his convictions for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute. We review challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence de novo. United States v. Voss, 82 F.3d 1521, 1524-25 (10th Cir.1996). In doing so, we consider only "whether, taking the evidence— both direct and circumstantial, together with the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom—in the light most favorable to the government, a reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. (quotations omitted). A conviction should be reversed only if "no reasonable juror could have reached the disputed verdict." United States v. Carter, 130 F.3d 1432, 1439 (10th Cir.1997). "The evidence necessary to support a verdict need not conclusively exclude every other reasonable hypothesis and need not negate all possibilities except guilt. Instead, the evidence only has to reasonably support the jury's finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." United States v. Wilson, 182 F.3d 737, 742 (10th Cir.1999) (internal citations and quotations omitted). However, "[a] jury will not be allowed to engage in a degree of speculation and conjecture that renders its finding a guess or mere possibility." United States v. Jones, 49 F.3d 628, 632 (10th Cir.1995).

A

To obtain a conviction for conspiracy in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, the government must establish beyond a reasonable doubt that: (1) there was an agreement to violate the law; (2) the defendant knew the essential objectives of the conspiracy; (3) the defendant knowingly and voluntarily took part in the conspiracy; and (4) the coconspirators were interdependent. United States v. Riggins, 15 F.3d 992, 994 (10th Cir.1994). To establish possession under an aiding and abetting theory, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant: (1) "willfully associate[d] with the criminal venture," and (2) "aid[ed] such venture through affirmative action." United States v. Delgado-Uribe, 363 F.3d 1077, 1084 (10th Cir.2004) (internal citations and quotations omitted). "Participation in the criminal venture may be established by circumstantial evidence and the level of participation may be of `relatively slight...