U.S. v. Navarrete, 97-1583

• Decision Date: 15 September 1997
• Docket Number: No. 97-1583,97-1583
• Citation: 125 F.3d 559
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Adolfo NAVARRETE, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 559

125 F.3d 559

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Adolfo NAVARRETE, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 97-1583.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued Aug. 5, 1997.

Decided Sept. 15, 1997.

Deborah A. Devaney, David Bindi (argued), Alex Menchaca, Office of the United States Attorney, Criminal Division, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Gerald J. Collins (argued), Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before EASTERBROOK, MANION and KANNE, Circuit Judges.

KANNE, Circuit Judge.

After being indicted on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and 18 U.S.C. § 2, defendant, Adolfo Navarrete, waived his right to a jury trial. Following a one day bench trial, the district court found Navarrete guilty. The district court sentenced him to 33 months' imprisonment and upon release from custody, the court ordered him to report to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for appropriate deportation proceedings. Navarrete challenges the sufficiency of the evidence of his conspiracy conviction. For the following reasons, the district court's judgment is affirmed.

At Navarrete's bench trial, various United States Customs officials testified to the events surrounding Navarrete's arrest. On July 29, 1996, Navarrete arrived at O'Hare International Airport from Mexico City and was stopped by customs officials, who were suspicious because Navarrete did not have any baggage. The customs agents took Navarrete to a secondary area, where they search baggage as well as people. United States Customs employee, Michael Wells, and another agent questioned Navarrete about his declaration card, which Navarrete handed to them along with his Illinois driver's license and alien registration. After examining these items and questioning Navarrete, Wells obtained authorization from his supervisor to conduct a pat-down search of Navarrete.

Wells searched Navarrete pursuant to standard operating procedures and felt a hard object near Navarrete's groin. Wells' supervisor then gave authorization for a partial strip search, which revealed a package wrapped in black electrical tape in Navarrete's spandex shorts. Wells asked Navarrete to pull out the package. After Wells examined the package, he opened it and found a black, tar-like substance which tested as heroin. Later, the parties stipulated that the substance was 225.6 grams, nearly half of a pound, of 44% pure Mexican black-tar heroin.

United States Customs Special Agent, Carol Czech, took a statement from Navarrete translated from Spanish by an inspector with the United States Customs Service. The inspector testified that he read Navarrete his rights and that Navarrete signed the waiver in his presence. In his statement, Navarrete described that he had been contacted by his friend Julian, whose last name he did not know. Julian told Navarrete that his grandmother was very sick and that he should visit her in Acapulco, Mexico. After Navarrete flew from Chicago to Mexico City Julian asked him to smuggle drugs into the United States telling him he would be paid $2,000 via "Alfredo," whose telephone number was found on a scrap piece of paper in Navarrete's wallet.

After he made his statement, Navarrete agreed to cooperate with Agent Czech and telephoned Alfredo. He then met with Alfredo at the Jewel parking lot on Ashland Avenue in Chicago. Alfredo arrived in a car and Navarrete got in the front passenger side. They started to drive off and shortly thereafter customs officials arrested them. The parties stipulated that after the arrest, the government seized $700 dollars from Alfredo, in addition to $230 in his wallet. Agent Czech also testified that Navarrete had purchased his airline ticket to Mexico from a travel agency in Chicago. According to Navarrete's itinerary, he departed from Chicago O'Hare, arriving in Mexico City on the same day, July 27, 1996. He returned to Chicago two days later via Acapulco and Mexico City.

The day after his arrest, Navarrete cooperated with the United States Attorney's Office and gave a statement that the night before he left Mexico for Chicago, Julian had given him alcohol, cocaine, and provided a prostitute.

Fully counseled, Navarrete prepared a statement which was read before the grand jury. Navarrete's grand jury statement was also read into the record at the bench trial. He testified that a friend from his hometown in Mexico, Julian Soberanis, called him in Chicago recommending that he visit his grandmother before she died. Navarrete testified that Julian offered to repay a $300 debt and loan Navarrete the remainder of the money for the trip. Julian then directed him to contact Jose "Alfredo" Soberanis to purchase the round trip ticket from Chicago to Mexico City. Alfredo gave Navarrete the money and accompanied him to the travel agent. Navarrete then testified that he met Julian in Mexico and that Julian had asked him if he would deliver a package containing drugs to Alfredo in return for $2,000, instructing Navarrete how to conceal the package on his body. Navarrete agreed.

Navarrete testified that when he returned to Chicago, he was searched by customs inspectors, who found the package of heroin in his pants. He then agreed to arrange the delivery to Alfredo in the Jewel parking lot. When they met, Alfredo told Navarrete that he would be paid $700 at that time and that the rest of the money was at Alfredo's home. Navarrete placed the heroin next to the stick shift of the car. Alfredo started to drive away when customs agents stopped them.

Navarrete testified on his own behalf at his bench trial. He stated that he had gotten a call from Julian to take a trip to see his grandmother. He testified that he did not have a lot of money and that Julian would buy his airline ticket due to a $300 debt and that the remainder would be a loan. Navarrete then explained that Alfredo, Julian's cousin, was going to give him the money for the ticket. He booked his ticket to Mexico City. When he arrived in Mexico, he took a bus to Acapulco to visit his grandmother.

After visiting his grandmother, Julian and Navarrete went to a night club in Acapulco where Navarrete drank alcohol, did cocaine, and picked up a prostitute. Navarrete then testified that they were going to the Acapulco airport in a taxi when Julian told the prostitute to put the package of what Navarrete thought was cocaine in his pants. Navarrete stated he was drunk and did not resist. He also testified that he had looked for a place to discard the drugs while in both the Mexico City and O'Hare airports. While at O'Hare Navarrete stated that he did not know where he was and was hung over. He stated that he did not intentionally travel to Mexico for the purpose of bringing back heroin and that he did not know what kind of drug he had carried.

The district court addressed the question of whether there was a conspiracy, concluding that the...