U.S. v. Castellanos-Machorro

• Citation: 512 F.2d 1181
• Decision Date: 17 March 1975
• Docket Number: CASTELLANOS-MACHORR,Nos. 74-2858,D,74-2859,CASTELLANOS-COT,s. 74-2858
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jorgeefendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Rosaefendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 1181

512 F.2d 1181

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jorge CASTELLANOS-MACHORRO, Defendant-Appellant.

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Rosa CASTELLANOS-COTA, Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 74-2858, 74-2859.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

March 17, 1975.

D. Ivan Dirkes (argued in 74-2858), Clarence W. Finley (argued in 74-2859), San Diego, Cal., for defendants-appellants.

William A. Shaw, Asst. U. S. Atty. (argued), for plaintiff-appellee.

Before BROWNING, and WRIGHT, Circuit Judges, and ZIRPOLI, ^* District Judge.

OPINION

ZIRPOLI, District Judge.

Jorge Castellanos-Machorro (Jorge) and his wife, Rosa Castellanos-Cota (Rosa), appeal from their convictions for transporting, concealing, and conspiracy to transport and conceal aliens illegally within the United States. Their sole contention on appeal is that they were denied due process of law because the Government released certain aliens and returned them to Mexico before appellants were able to interview these aliens. They rely upon this court's decision in United States v. Mendez-Rodriguez, 450 F.2d 1 (9th Cir. 1971). We affirm.

Appellants were the managers of the Flamingo Motel in San Ysidro, California, near the Mexican border. They were indicted, along with four others, in an eleven-count indictment. The first count charged that they conspired to violate 8 U.S.C. section 1324 by encouraging and facilitating the entry into the United States of aliens not lawfully entitled to enter. The remaining ten counts related to the concealment and transportation of five named aliens. As to each of these five aliens, the indictment charged appellants with one count of violation of 8 U.S.C. section 1324(1)(2) and another of violation of 8 U.S.C. section 1324(a)(3). Citing the release of 88 aliens apprehended while allegedly travelling north from the Flamingo Motel and the release of approximately 200 other aliens discovered in the vicinity of the motel, ¹ appellants moved to dismiss on the basis of Mendez-Rodriguez, supra. The trial court denied the motion after a hearing.

Appellants then agreed to submit the case to the court based on stipulated facts reciting what the testimony of the Government's witnesses would be at trial. The Government's case was strong. In addition to the testimony of the Border Patrol Agent and the five aliens whose transportation formed the basis of the second through eleventh count, the prosecution had testimony from four former drivers for the smuggling operation. The drivers testified that they had each picked up aliens at the motel on orders from one of appellants' codefendants, giving an envelope containing money to one or the other of the appellants and receiving in return an envelope containing addresses of relatives and friends of the aliens to whom they should be delivered in the Los Angeles area. There was not testimony to connect Rosa with the transaction out of which the second through eleventh counts grew, but three of the drivers stated that they had dealt personally with Rosa on occasions when Jorge was not present. See C.T. 62, 65, 66; cf. C.T. 68. The trial court found Jorge guilty on all eleven counts and found Rosa guilty on the first count. It sentenced Jorge to five years' imprisonment concurrently on all counts and Rosa to serve one year.

Appellants contend that their ability to defend against the charges made was unconstitutionally foreclosed by the Government when it released the 88 aliens it had apprehended travelling north from the Flamingo Motel. We conclude that the controlling principles for this case were those enunciated in United States v. McQuillan, 507 F.2d 30 (9th Cir. 1974). Appellants there had been convicted of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute it. They were apprehended, along with four Mexican aliens, attempting to cross the border on foot, and backpacks containing marijuana were found nearby. An agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration interviewed the four aliens and decided not to charge them with smuggling the marijuana, mainly because they did not appear to him to be soiled and sweaty-as they would have been had they been carrying the backpacks-while appellants did. The aliens were returned to Mexico. The court affirmed, distinguishing Mendez-Rodriguez on several grounds: (1) in that case there was no question but that the aliens returned to Mexico were in fact eyewitnesses to, and active participants in, the crime with which defendant was charged; (2) in that case appellant had an alibi which might have been corroborated by the missing witness; (3) there was at least a "strong probability" that the missing witness could have provided material and relevant...