United States v. Arechiga-Mendoza

566 F. App'x 713
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedMay 12, 2014
Docket13-1082
StatusUnpublished

This text of 566 F. App'x 713 (United States v. Arechiga-Mendoza) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Arechiga-Mendoza, 566 F. App'x 713 (10th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

*715 ORDER AND JUDGMENT **

MARY BECK BRISCOE, Chief Judge.

Atanasio Arechiga-Mendoza (Arechiga) was convicted of being an alien in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5) and 924(a)(2), of possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d) and 5871, and of possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine in excess of five grams, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(l)(B)(viii), and 851. On appeal, Arechi-ga contends that the district court should have compelled disclosure of information concerning a confidential informant, and that two sentencing enhancements were unwarranted. Exercising our jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a), we vacate in part, and remand.

I

Atanasio Arechiga-Mendoza (Arechiga) was an illegal alien living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Unbeknownst to Are-chiga, his next-door neighbor, Veronica Munoz-Villa (Munoz), was a confidential informant (Cl) for the police.

On January 4, 2012, Detective Rhonda Yohn received a phone call from Munoz. Munoz informed Detective Rhonda Yohn received a phone call from Munoz. Munoz informed Detective Yohn that Arechiga was selling methamphetamine. Detective Yohn instructed Munoz to tell Arechiga that Detective Yohn, as her undercover alias, was interested in buying methamphetamine. Munoz complied and arranged a phone conversation between Detective Yohn and Arechiga.

The next day, on January 5, Detective Yohn met with Arechiga, purchasing in excess of five grams of methamphetamine from him. That evening, Detective Yohn procured a search warrant for Arechiga’s home. And on January 6, the police executed the warrant and recovered four firearms, including two short-barreled (“sawed off’) shotguns, fi-om Arechiga’s home. For all of this, Arechiga was arrested. Arechiga would later testify that he was only storing the shotguns for their owner, Richard, and that Arechiga expected some men to pick up the shotguns and take them to Mexico.

A grand jury returned a three-count indictment charging Arechiga with being an alien in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5) and 924(a)(2) (Count 1), possession of an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d) and 5871 (Count 2), and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in excess of five grams, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(l)(B)(viii), and 851 (Count 3).

Before trial, Arechiga sought disclosure of information about Munoz. Arechiga explained that he knew that Munoz was the Cl who had worked with Detective Yohn, and that he intended to call Munoz as a witness. Specifically, Arechiga would argue that Munoz, acting as an agent of the government, entrapped him. Arechiga requested, therefore, that the government disclose information concerning, among other things, Munoz’s criminal record and “[a]ll information concerning promises of leniency, consideration or compensation given to the witness or which may be used to impeach the credibility of the witness.” R. Vol. I at 54-55. According to Arechiga, any incentives Munoz had to produce results as a Cl would be relevant to his entrapment defense.

*716 Notably, Arechiga and Munoz told very different stories about the events leading up to Arechiga’s meeting with Detective Yohn. As Arechiga told it, Munoz hounded him to make the sale to Detective Yohn. He said that Munoz accosted him on no fewer than ten occasions to make the sale, even going so far as to threaten to report Arechiga and his family to the immigration authorities if he refused. Munoz, by contrast, stated that she asked Arechiga only once to make the sale, and that she made no threats. It was Arechiga’s hope that information concerning Munoz’s compensation for her work as a Cl would make his version of the events more persuasive at trial, thereby bolstering his entrapment defense.

The government opposed Areehiga’s request for disclosure on the grounds that the government did not intend to call Munoz as a witness, and that, notwithstanding Arechiga’s knowledge of Munoz’s identity, the government retained an interest in keeping the information confidential.

The district court refused to compel disclosure. The court reasoned that the discovery was irrelevant to the case because the government did not intend to call Munoz.

At trial, Detective Yohn testified that Munoz was compensated for work as a Cl, but Detective Yohn did not know what form the compensation took. When defense counsel called Munoz to testify, she admitted that her son-in-law, Julio, had been arrested for selling drugs, and that she became a Cl only after Julio’s arrest. Nevertheless, Munoz denied being compensated for her work as a Cl with either money or leniency for Julio. According to Munoz, she informed the police of her neighbor Arechiga’s activities only out of concern for the safety of her family.

The jury convicted Arechiga on all three counts. At sentencing, over Arechiga’s objection, the district court applied an “ice” enhancement to Arechiga’s sentence for the drug conviction. Under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1, methamphetamine qualifies as “ice” when it is at least 80% pure. The court based the enhancement on an expert’s unchallenged testimony that the methamphetamine Arechiga sold to Detective Yohn was over 93% pure.

The district court also applied, over Are-chiga’s objection, a “trafficking” enhancement to Arechiga’s sentences for both firearm convictions. Under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(5) and Application Notes 13(A) and (B) to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1, such an enhancement is permitted where defendant “engaged in the trafficking of firearms,” which is to say that he “[k]new or had reason to believe that” the men who would take the shotguns to Mexico were men (1) “[wjhose possession or receipt of the firearm would be unlawful; or” (2) “[w]ho intended to use or dispose of the firearm unlawfully.” Rather than basing the enhancement on a factual finding, the court justified the enhancement on the ground that the transfer of firearms into Mexico is per se illegal, thereby satisfying the unlawful “use or dispos[al]” requirement.

II

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566 F. App'x 713, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-arechiga-mendoza-ca10-2014.