USA. v. Mojica, s. 98-1911
| Citation | 185 F.3d 780 |
| Decision Date | 20 July 1999 |
| Docket Number | 98-2737,98-2028,Nos. 98-1911,98-2029,s. 98-1911 |
| Parties | (7th Cir. 1999) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. NAZARIO MOJICA, JULIO G. MIRANDA, DAVID HRUZA and JESUS SANDOVAL, Defendants-Appellants |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit) |
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 94 CR 714--Ann Claire Williams, Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
Before CUDAHY, COFFEY and MANION, Circuit Judges.
Nazario Mojica, Julio Gerardo Miranda, David Hruza and Jesus Sandoval were charged in a two-count superseding indictment with possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. sec. 841(a) and 18 U.S.C. sec. 2 and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. sec. 846 and 18 U.S.C. sec. 2. The prosecution maintained at trial that Sandoval supplied drugs from his home in San Francisco to various individuals in the Chicago area, including Mojica, Hruza and Miranda. Hruza owned and operated an auto repair shop known as Supreme Auto and employed Mojica and Miranda as mechanics. These three allegedly used Supreme Auto to receive and distribute drugs and collect money. A jury convicted Sandoval, Mojica and Hruza on both counts and Miranda on the possession count alone. Mojica, Hruza and Miranda were sentenced to 188 months imprisonment, five years supervised release, a mandatory special assessment and a $1,000 fine. Sandoval, who had health problems, was sentenced separately and received a term of 10 years imprisonment and five years supervised release.
Each of the four defendants now appeals his conviction and sentence, contending that he did not receive a fair trial because the district court erred (1) in allowing the government to introduce evidence of an uncharged drug conspiracy, and (2) in refusing to allow the defense to cross-examine the government's main witness about his admitted drug use. Mojica and Miranda also challenge (3) the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions. Finally, Hruza and Miranda appeal (4) the district court's refusal at sentencing to grant a two-point reduction for minimal participation in the offense. We affirm on all issues.
In October 1994, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intercepted a 100-kilogram load of cocaine which was being transported in a U-Haul truck from El Paso to Chicago. The FBI arranged for a controlled delivery of the cocaine in Chicago by one of its agents, Rolando Lopez, who assumed the role of the driver. On November 3, 1994, Lopez checked into a Super 8 motel in the Chicago-area, where he received a telephone call from Arturo Quiroz regarding the delivery. Later, the two men met in the motel parking lot. Quiroz took the keys to the truck and left the scene on foot. Several hours later, FBI agents observed Hruza and Miranda pull into the parking lot in a tow-truck. Having looked over the exterior of the U-Haul truck and checked under the hood, Miranda climbed aboard, started the engine and drove out of the lot after Hruza (who was driving the tow-truck). The FBI agents tailed the trucks to Supreme Auto where Miranda parked on the street. Later that evening, Miranda backed the truck up to the shop door. The FBI moved in and arrested Quiroz, Hruza and Miranda.1 Three sealed boxes--containing the 100 kilograms of cocaine--had been unloaded from the back of the truck. No other drugs or drug paraphernalia were found on the premises although some traces of cocaine residue were detected.
Quiroz cooperated with the government, pleaded guilty to certain offenses and, in return for a reduction in his sentence, fingered the defendants. At trial, Quiroz testified that Sandoval directed a drug operation from his home in San Francisco which involved the distribution of drugs in Chicago by Mojica, Hruza and Miranda under the cover of Supreme Auto. Quiroz testified that, early in 1993, shortly after he began working for Sandoval as a drug courier, he met Mojica and Hruza when they came to San Francisco to deliver money to Sandoval. Mojica and Hruza had driven from Chicago in a Lincoln Continental equipped with a hidden compartment. Quiroz later drove the car back to Chicago and left it at Supreme Auto for repairs. Quiroz testified that, on another occasion, he drove the Lincoln Continental to Chicago where he met Mojica, Hruza and Miranda at Supreme Auto. According to Quiroz, Mojica loaded $700,000 (which Quiroz had collected from a buyer) and some of Mojica's own money into the Lincoln's hidden compartment. Quiroz testified about a visit Hruza made to Sandoval's home in 1993 and two other visits by Mojica and Miranda in 1994. Quiroz stated that, in August 1994, he went to Supreme Auto, where, in the presence of Miranda and Hruza, he asked Mojica about money owed to Sandoval and accepted jewelry as payment in lieu of cash. Quiroz made another trip to Chicago some weeks later to collect money that had been brought to Supreme Auto by a buyer and stored in a van for transportation to San Francisco.
Quiroz also testified as to the events of November 3, 1994--the day of the drug bust at Supreme Auto. He explained to the jury that Supreme Auto had not been the intended destination of the 100 kilograms of cocaine. However, on the morning in question, Quiroz began to have doubts about the original plan and, on Sandoval's advice, opted to use Supreme Auto. Quiroz testified that he telephoned Mojica and told him that he had a delivery. Miranda was dispatched to pick Quiroz up and bring him to Supreme Auto, where Quiroz had a brief conversation with Mojica, Hruza and Miranda about the delivery. Quiroz then called Lopez and put Mojica on the line to arrange the pick-up. After the call, Mojica told Hruza and Miranda that they were going to pick up the cocaine. Quiroz testified that he, Hruza and Miranda drove to a McDonald's restaurant across the street from the Super 8 motel. Quiroz left the others at the McDonald's and went to the motel parking lot where he met Lopez and collected the keys to the truck. He then returned to the McDonald's and gave Miranda the keys. Later that evening, Quiroz was at Supreme Auto when the cocaine was unloaded from the truck. Quiroz testified that he, Mojica and another man unloaded the three boxes from the back of the truck while Hruza and Miranda stood nearby. At trial, the government introduced telephone records confirming that, on November 3, 1994, calls were made from phones used by Quiroz to phone numbers registered to Sandoval and Supreme Auto. Other documentary evidence included Sandoval's personal phone book, which listed numbers for Supreme Auto and for Mojica and Hruza, and Quiroz's phone book, which contained a number for Mojica.
Miranda testified in his own defense and, of course, presented the jury with a somewhat different version of events. Miranda admitted that, on the morning in question, he picked up Quiroz at Hruza's request but stated that, on his return to Supreme Auto, he simply resumed his work in the shop. Shortly thereafter, Hruza asked him to accompany him to pick up a car. Miranda admitted going to the McDonald's with Hruza and Quiroz and conceded that Quiroz left them for a short time, ostensibly to go to the bathroom. When Quiroz returned, he told them that the car would not start and that they would need a tow- truck. Hruza and Miranda then returned to Supreme Auto, got a tow-truck and drove to the hotel parking lot where the U-Haul truck was parked. According to Miranda, he jump-started the truck and drove it back to Supreme Auto believing that it needed repairs. Later that evening, he moved the truck from the street to the shop door so that he could work on it. At that point, the FBI agents moved in. Miranda denied knowing that there were drugs in the truck and stated that he never assisted Quiroz in any drug-related activity.
At trial, the government sought to bolster its case by presenting evidence that the alleged conspirators used Supreme Auto to deal drugs to Eduardo Rivera, also known as Lalo, who ran an operation in Milwaukee. Lalo was the target of a federal indictment in Wisconsin--entirely separate from the present case--charging a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the Milwaukee area. At trial, Fernando Velasco-Najar, Lalo's agent in his dealings with Supreme Auto, testified on behalf of the government.2 He told the jury that, on several occasions in August and September 1994, he bought cocaine from Miranda at Supreme Auto. On these occasions, he drove to Supreme Auto in a car equipped with a hidden compartment in which the cocaine was stored for transportation to Milwaukee. Najar testified that he understood from Lalo that Hruza had constructed the hidden compartments in Lalo's vehicles. He also testified that Lalo had referred to Supreme Auto as "Mojica's shop." Finally, Najar testified about entries in ledgers detailing Lalo's drug deals with Supreme Auto. Miranda countered Najar's testimony by telling the jury that he had never seen Najar prior to trial and that he had not sold drugs to Lalo.
Count I of the second superseding indictment charged the defendants with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute wholesale quantities of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. sec. 846 and 18 U.S.C. sec. 2. Count II charged them with possession with intent to distribute approximately 100 kilograms of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. sec. 841(a) and 18 U.S.C. sec. 2. Paragraph 3 of Count I alleged that Mojica, Hruza and Miranda used Supreme Auto as a place to receive wholesale quantities of cocaine and to distribute cocaine to customers for resale to retail clients. Paragraph 4 charged these defendants with using Supreme Auto as a site to receive money from customers as payment for cocaine and to load...
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