United States v. Francisco Pineda-Espinoza

455 F.2d 498, 1972 U.S. App. LEXIS 11069

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: February 28, 1972
• Docket: 26938
• Status: Published

Opinions

PER CURIAM:

Pineda-Espinoza, convicted by a jury of possession of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174, appeals on the ground that the District Court erroneously refused to accept his plea of guilty to the offense of purchasing or selling narcotic drugs except in the original stamped package in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 4704(a). Prior to his trial on the one-count indictment charging the violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174, the accused appeared before the District Court and, pursuant to an agreement with the United States Attorney, waived the filing of an indictment and consented to the filing of an information charging violation of 26 U. S.C. § 4704(a). He tendered his guilty plea to this charge but, under questioning by the court, denied knowledge that the packages which he had possessed contained heroin. Because of this denial, the District Court refused to accept the guilty plea, and the subsequent trial and conviction on the section 174 charge ensued.

North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970), does not support appellant’s position. We find no error and affirm the judgment.