U.S. v. Morales, s. 09–2863

• Citation: 655 F.3d 608
• Decision Date: 18 August 2011
• Docket Number: 09–3347,09–2864,Nos. 09–2863,09–3231,09–3603,09–3653.,09–3232,s. 09–2863
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee,v.Mariano MORALES, Arturo Barbosa, Miguel Rodriguez, Brian Hernandez, Lionel Lechuga, Harold Crowder, and Romel Handley, Defendants–Appellants.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)

655 F.3d 608

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee,

v.Mariano MORALES, Arturo Barbosa, Miguel Rodriguez, Brian Hernandez, Lionel Lechuga, Harold Crowder, and Romel Handley, Defendants–Appellants.

Nos. 09–2863

09–2864

09–3231

09–3232

09–3347

09–3603

09–3653.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued March 28, 2011.Decided Aug. 18, 2011.

Stuart D. Fullerton (argued), Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff–Appellee.Paul Camarena (argued), Attorney, North & Sedgwick Law, Chicago, IL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 09–2863.Michael Bernard Nash (argued), Attorney, Chicago, IL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 09–2864.Hannah V. Garst (argued), Attorney, Chicago, IL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 09–3231.

Paul E. Wojcicki (argued), Attorney, Segal, McCambridge, Singer & Mahoney, Chicago, IL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 09–3232.Daniel Rufo (argued), Patrick W. Blegen, Attorney, Blegen & Garvey, Chicago, IL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 09–3347.Haneef L. Omar (argued), Attorney, Rockford, IL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 09–3603.Beau B. Brindley (argued), Attorney, Law Offices of Beau B. Brindley, Chicago, IL, for Defendant–Appellant in No. 09–3653.Before KANNE, SYKES, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.KANNE, Circuit Judge.

In 2002, state and federal authorities began an intensive investigation into gang violence in Aurora, Illinois. Their investigation centered on the Insane Deuces street gang, as one member had agreed to serve as a confidential informant for local authorities. Mariano Morales, Arturo Barbosa, Miguel Rodriguez, Brian Hernandez, Lionel Lechuga, Harold Crowder, and Romel Handley (collectively, the “Defendants”) all participated in the gang's activities. They were among sixteen individuals indicted by a federal grand jury on various racketeering-related charges in 2006. After the trial was bifurcated, the seven Defendants stood trial together and were each convicted of racketeering conspiracy; some were also convicted of related charges, including narcotics distribution and conspiracy, illegal firearm possession, and assault and murder in furtherance of their racketeering activities. Once proud, self-identifying Deuces banging on the street, each now tries to distance himself from the gang and claims to have been only tangentially involved in its activities, if at all. The Defendants present three joint and fourteen individual issues, alleging errors in both the guilt and sentencing phases of their trial. Finding that their arguments lack merit or that the errors alleged were harmless, we affirm their convictions and sentences.

I. Background

The Defendants were members or confederates of the Insane Deuces, a street gang with a heavy presence in northeastern Illinois in the previous decade. With the help of a gang member seeking to avoid prosecution following an arrest, local and federal authorities gathered information on the Insane Deuces and tried to dismantle the gang in Aurora, Illinois, where gang-related violence had soared in the early 2000s. Today we resolve two appeals arising from trials based upon those efforts: this case and its companion case, United States v. Benabe, 654 F.3d 753 (7th Cir.2011). We will briefly describe the background of the gang and its activities before discussing the proceedings leading to the current appeal.

A. About the Gang

The Insane Deuce Nation (“Insane Deuces,” “Deuces,” or the “Nation”) is an organized street gang affiliated with the Folks, a national network of various local gangs. Recently, the gang has been predominantly composed of Latino/Hispanic males and has operated primarily within northern Illinois, though factions exist throughout Illinois and various state and federal prisons. Cities in northeastern Illinois had individual chapters under the umbrella of the Nation and its centralized leadership. This case involves the Aurora Deuces, a chapter with a significant presence in Aurora, Illinois.

A loose association between the Insane Deuces and the Latin Kings, a gang affiliated with the Peoples network, had evaporated before the events in this case occurred. By 2002, the Deuces and Kings were bitter rivals fighting for control of Aurora's streets. The rivalry resulted in frequent and escalating violence, often leading to attacks against victims mistaken for rival gang members. This inter-gang violence precipitated the investigation leading to this case.

The Deuces comprised at least three tiers of membership: Seniors, Juniors, and Shorties. Shorties were the gang's youngest full members. They bore responsibility for executing most of the gang's activities, including carrying out violent acts and selling narcotics to fund the gang. They were often juveniles, recruited in their youth to build the gang's ranks while minimizing criminal liability. By participating in gang activities, young members could become Juniors. Juniors were responsible for daily Deuce operations. They directed the Shorties' activities and planned narrow-scale operations, determining which Shorties would participate, assigning responsibilities and distributing firearms to them, and supervising their activities. The Seniors were longstanding members of the gang whose age and accomplishments made them the leaders, broad-scope planners, and advisors for the gang. They directed the Juniors but were often removed from the Deuces' daily activities. The local chapter in Aurora was organized at the Junior level, likely due to the ongoing incarceration of the local Seniors.

Each tier in the Deuces had its own leadership structure where three members in each tier bore a title and increased responsibilities. The highest rank in each tier was the “First Seat” or “Governor” who was responsible for the overall activities of that group. The “Second Seat” or “Lieutenant Governor” assisted in directing activities within the tier, often assigning missions. The third-ranking member, or “Enforcer,” was responsible for ensuring compliance with the gang's disciplinary codes and for administering “violations” (punishments) to members who broke the gang's “leyas” (laws) or failed to participate in its activities.

The Deuces' daily activities included dealing narcotics to benefit the gang, going on “missions” (planned attacks on rival gang members), protecting and supporting fellow gang members and their families, punishing gang members who violated the gang's codes, and meeting to coordinate these efforts. To facilitate their activities, the Deuces maintained a “caja” system, a loose form of community property and money acquired for the benefit of gang members. For example, if a Deuce was arrested and held pending trial, other members would take money from the caja to post bail for him. The caja also included a quantity of narcotics from which a member could borrow to make sales or trades for the benefit of the Nation. Although the Deuces were allowed to buy and sell drugs in a “free enterprise” system—sales could be conducted from sources outside of the Nation—all sales needed to benefit the Nation in some way, typically by paying a portion of the proceeds into the caja. Alternatively, profits from sales could be used to purchase firearms to donate to the gang. These “Nation guns” would then be used in carrying out missions or protecting members; the guns would be returned to the caja after the mission for later use (unless disposed of to avoid ballistics evidence in the event of a murder).

Participation was compulsory for Juniors and Shorties, including those members who were rolled back from Senior to Junior status in an effort to better train, lead, and supervise the Deuces' swelling Shorty ranks. Every Junior and Shorty had to pay periodic dues into the caja to support the gang's activities. Missions were specifically assigned to gang members and usually consisted of planned attacks directed against specific rival gang members in retaliation for violence or territorial encroachment. Nation guns would be distributed for the mission along with orders to empty the magazine or bear violations for every bullet not fired. In addition to missions, all members were expected to comply with a standing order to attack Latin Kings whenever the opportunity arose. Participation in missions, other acts of violence, and donations of money, contraband, or firearms to the caja through drug sales or theft led to advancement within the organization. In exchange for these efforts, Deuces and their families received financial support and physical protection; these benefits extended to both Deuces on the streets and those who were incarcerated in various facilities throughout Illinois.

B. The Investigation

Following a drug raid on Junior Enforcer Orlando Rivera's home in early 2002, Rivera absconded, and a warrant issued for his arrest. After two months, he was arrested pursuant to the warrant and was looking to avoid prosecution. He therefore began cooperating with local and federal authorities investigating the Deuces. He surreptitiously recorded gang meetings and conversations, he pretended to discard Nation guns only to hide them and later turn them over to authorities, he reported the gang's activities and plans, and he received money to conduct controlled buys of narcotics and firearms from gang members. The intelligence gathered through Rivera produced evidence on four murders, eleven attempted murders, two solicitations to commit murder, other shootings, and narcotics distribution incidents—all of which the Deuces perpetrated in 2002 alone. In exchange for his services, Rivera received full immunity for his activities with the Deuces, and the government relocated and compensated him.

Through Rivera's cooperation and information arising from it, government authorities learned about each of the Defendants' roles and general scope of participation in the Deuces' criminal activities. We briefly relate some of that background information here.

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