U.S. v. Montoya

• Decision Date: 18 August 1987
• Docket Number: No. 86-1804,86-1804
• Parties: 23 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1187 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. William MONTOYA, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 143

827 F.2d 143

23 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1187

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. William MONTOYA, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 86-1804.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued Jan. 6, 1987.

Decided Aug. 18, 1987.

Ronald Bredemann, Flood Bredemann & Evans, Park Ridge, Ill., for defendant-appellant.

Michael J. Shepard, Asst. U.S. Atty., Anton Valukas, U.S. Atty., Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff-appellee.

Before WOOD, CUDAHY, and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

HARLINGTON WOOD, Jr., Circuit Judge.

The United States charged defendant William Montoya with conspiring with two other men, Jose Rios and Roberto Gonzalez, to possess cocaine with an intent to distribute it in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846 (1982). The government also charged Montoya with aiding and abetting Rios's and Gonzalez's distribution of cocaine and travel in interstate commerce with the intent to carry on a narcotics transaction, in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1) & 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1952(a)(3) (1982). A jury convicted Montoya of conspiring with Rios and Gonzalez and of aiding and abetting Gonzalez, but it acquitted Montoya of aiding and abetting Rios. ¹ Montoya challenges his conviction on the bases of alleged violations of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. Secs. 3161 et seq. (1982), and an unfair trial resulting from the admission of hearsay evidence. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On May 10, 1984, two Chicago police officers followed and then stopped Jose Rios at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Rios had just come in from Miami on a non-stop flight. He was carrying a maroon-colored duffel bag. Rios allowed the officers to search his bag. Their search uncovered a box filled with plastic bags of cocaine worth $500,000. The box was taped with tan-colored tape and was coated with coffee crystals. (Coffee crystals or other strong-smelling substances often are used in drug-smuggling operations to deter police dogs from sniffing out the presence of drugs.)

Five days later, on May 15th, the same two police officers followed and then stopped Roberto Gonzalez at O'Hare Airport as he arrived on a non-stop flight from Miami. Gonzalez was carrying a red-colored duffel bag of the same size and shape as the one Rios had carried five days earlier. Gonzalez allowed the officers to search his bag. Their search uncovered a box filled with plastic bags of cocaine worth $2 million. The box was taped with tan-colored tape and was covered with coffee crystals.

The evidence at trial showed how defendant Montoya was linked to Rios and Gonzalez. Much of this evidence came from Gonzalez's testimony. Gonzalez testified that he and Rios worked together as security guards at an apartment building in Miami Beach, Florida. They became friends and used drugs together. Rios told Gonzalez that he was going to quit working as a security guard and work for his uncle instead. Rios's uncle was Montoya, who lived in the apartment building the two men guarded. Rios told Gonzalez he was going to deliver cocaine to a Chicago contact for his uncle. Gonzalez told Rios he "wanted to be in that line of work."

Rios eventually introduced Gonzalez to his uncle Montoya. Gonzalez learned the cocaine-delivery procedures from Rios and was instructed by Montoya on other specifics. Gonzalez made his first cocaine delivery to the Chicago contact in April 1984. Gonzalez made two more trips to Chicago later that month. But on Gonzalez's fourth trip to Chicago, on May 15th, he was arrested. He did not know at the time of his arrest that Rios had been arrested five days earlier.

When Gonzalez was arrested, and was informed that Rios had been arrested, he agreed to cooperate with the police. The plastic bags of cocaine in the box in his duffel bag were replaced with plastic bags of flour. The box was resealed. The police instructed Gonzalez on the new delivery procedures. They were prepared to observe and supervise Gonzalez and record any telephone conversations he might have with Montoya in Florida. Gonzalez went to the delivery site, but found nobody there--his police questioning and other preparations had consumed five hours of time. Gonzalez made a telephone call to Montoya from a pay telephone. Gonzalez told Montoya he had missed the Chicago contact because he was late. Montoya told Gonzalez to wait for further instructions. A few minutes later the Chicago contact called Gonzalez. He told Gonzalez to go to a particular Holiday Inn. Gonzalez then went with the police to set up a controlled delivery, but Gonzalez and the police went to the wrong Holiday Inn.

At the wrong Holiday Inn Gonzalez received a telephone call from his wife. She told him that Montoya was trying to find him and that he did not have enough quarters to continue searching for Gonzalez from the pay phone he was at in Florida. She told Gonzalez to stay where he was so that he could receive a phone call from Montoya. Gonzalez then received a call from Montoya, which set off a series of telephone calls between Gonzalez, Montoya, and the Chicago contact. A second delivery was attempted late that night but failed. Gonzalez had a number of additional conversations with Montoya the next morning. Montoya instructed him to attempt to meet the Chicago contact again. All of these conversations Gonzalez had with Montoya were recorded by the police. Gonzalez met with the contact, but the contact became suspicious and told Gonzalez to flee because "the Feds" had followed Gonzalez. Gonzalez ran away from the meeting and the police arrested the contact. Montoya, meanwhile, fled from Miami Beach to Colombia and became a fugitive from justice.

II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Over a year after Montoya fled to Colombia, he returned to the United States. On August 1, 1985, a warrant for Montoya's arrest was issued and a complaint filed in the Northern District of Illinois. Four days later, on August 5th, Montoya was arrested in the Western District of Texas. The Western District of Texas filed a complaint against Montoya on the day of his arrest and indicted him the following day. A week later, on August 13th, Montoya made his initial appearance before a United States magistrate in Texas. He received an explanation of the charges against him originating in the Northern District of Illinois. After another week, on August 21st, a United States magistrate in Texas ordered that Montoya's removal to the Northern District of Illinois be stayed pending disposition of the charges against him in the Western District of Texas.

Later, on November 1st, Montoya was arraigned on the Texas charges. After two more weeks, on November 14th, he was indicted on the Illinois charges. A month later, on December 11th, Montoya entered into a plea agreement on the Texas charges and was sentenced. About two weeks later Montoya was transported to Chicago and arraigned on the Illinois charges on December 24th. On January 9, 1986, the district judge in Illinois set the case to go to trial on March 10th. He also set a motions schedule that required Montoya to file all pretrial motions by January 22nd. Montoya went to trial on the Illinois charges on March 10th. He was convicted by a jury of some of the counts in the Illinois indictment and subsequently sentenced on his conviction on May 15, 1986.

III. DISCUSSION

Montoya's main argument is that the government twice violated his right to a speedy trial under the Speedy Trial Act.

Our determination of whether the Speedy Trial Act was violated requires us to review the district court's interpretation of that act. Statutory interpretation is something a district court undertakes as a matter of law. Atlantic City Municipal Utilities Authority v. Regional Administrator, 803 F.2d 96, 105 (3d Cir.1986) ("The interpretation of statutory language is a matter of law subject to review in the courts....") (Sloviter, J., dissenting); Lorenz v. Sauer, 807 F.2d 1509, 1511 (9th Cir.1987) ("The district court's construction of that statute, a legal question, is reviewed de novo."). We review legal determinations made by a district court de novo. Gianukos v. Loeb Rhoades & Co., 822 F.2d 648, 652 (7th Cir.1987); SEC v. Suter, 732 F.2d 1294, 1300 (7th Cir.1984) ("An appellate court may properly conduct an independent review and resolution of questions of law determined by a district court. Conclusions of law made by a district court do not bind a reviewing court.") (citations omitted).

The Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. Secs. 3161 et seq. (1982), was a legislative response to a perceived failure in the court system to adequately ensure that "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial...." U.S. Const. amend. VI. To guarantee speedy trials, Congress requires through the Speedy Trial Act that the government bring criminal defendants to trial within 100 days of arrest. This 100 days is divided into two time periods. Congress allots thirty days to the time between arrest and indictment under section 3161(b) and seventy days to the time between indictment and trial under section 3161(c)(1). Certain periods of delay are excludable under section 3161(h) in computing the days for both periods. The sanction under section 3162 for violating either one of these time periods is that the government either drop the charges or dismiss the indictment against the defendant. ²

Montoya was arrested in Texas on August 5, 1985. His arrest on that date started the thirty-day clock running on the period of time between arrest and indictment. ³ Counting ahead thirty days, excluding the day of arrest but including Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and the day on which the indictment is handed down, ⁴ the Illinois indictment should have been returned no later than September 4th. But Montoya was not indicted on the Illinois charges until November 14th, a total of 101 days from his arrest. Montoya thus argues that section 3161(b) was violated and that the Illinois charges against him should be dropped...