United States v. Hight

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedAugust 18, 2025
Docket24-3074
StatusUnpublished

This text of United States v. Hight (United States v. Hight) 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. Hight, (10th Cir. 2025).

Opinion

Appellate Case: 24-3074 Document: 54-1 Date Filed: 08/18/2025 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT August 18, 2025 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v. No. 24-3074 (D.C. No. 5:21-CR-40090-TC-2) THERESA RENE HIGHT, (D. Kan.)

Defendant - Appellant. _________________________________

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* _________________________________

Before HOLMES, Chief Judge, MORITZ, and ROSSMAN, Circuit Judges. _________________________________

A jury convicted Theresa Hight of several drug crimes, and the district court

sentenced her to 240 months in prison. On appeal, she claims her trial was unfair

because the district court denied her motion to continue the trial, limited her

examination of a law-enforcement witness, and failed to give a jury instruction about

the government’s destruction of pole-camera footage. She also challenges her

sentence.

We reject all four challenges and affirm. Because Hight failed to establish a

need for the continuance or that she would suffer prejudice if the continuance were

* This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. But it may be cited for its persuasive value. See Fed. R. App. P. 32.1(a); 10th Cir. R. 32.1(A). Appellate Case: 24-3074 Document: 54-1 Date Filed: 08/18/2025 Page: 2

denied, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying a continuance. Hight

has forfeited and waived her challenge to the district court’s examination limits;

moreover, any error in imposing these limits would have been harmless. Hight has

also forfeited and waived her argument about the destruction of pole-camera footage.

And we affirm her sentence as not substantively unreasonable.

Background

In December 2020, law enforcement pulled over Charles Balocca in Topeka

and found methamphetamine in his car. To avoid drug charges, Balocca agreed to

become a confidential informant. He told law enforcement that Shelli Zarazua and

Hight worked together selling methamphetamine, and he conducted two controlled

buys from Hight. On both occasions, Balocca went to Hight’s address to buy

methamphetamine, but Hight didn’t have any, so she drove to Zarazua’s house and

returned with the drugs, which Hight then sold to Balocca. After the controlled buys,

law enforcement placed a pole camera outside Hight’s residence. The pole camera

continuously recorded for about a month; when it ran out of hard-drive space, it

would overwrite old footage with new footage.

On March 15, 2021, Balocca texted a sheriff’s deputy that a drug courier was

at Hight’s address making a delivery. The deputy confirmed this tip by reviewing

pole-camera footage, which showed that a silver Toyota Matrix with a California

license plate had backed into Hight’s garage before the garage door was shut.

Officers quickly drove to Hight’s address and arrested Hight and Zarazua, as well as

2 Appellate Case: 24-3074 Document: 54-1 Date Filed: 08/18/2025 Page: 3

Allen Baker, who had a large quantity of methamphetamine, and Annabel Madrigal,

who had $50,000.

The government charged Hight, Zarazua, Baker, and Madrigal with conspiring

to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of

methamphetamine. Hight also faced charges for maintaining a drug-involved

premises, two counts of distributing methamphetamine, and one count of possessing

methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Before trial, defense counsel received two unsolicited letters from individuals

about conversations they’d had with Zarazua. The first came from Jeanette Morrow,

who claimed that she’d run into Zarazua at a casino, where Zarazua said that Hight

“was totally clueless to what was happening.” R. vol. 2, 15. Morrow’s letter said she

thought it was unfair that Hight “was getting in trouble for something she had no idea

about.” Id. The second came from Danielle Alliston. According to defense counsel,

Alliston’s letter—which is not included in the record on appeal—reported that she’d

spoken to Zarazua while the two were in jail together, and Zarazua told Alliston “that

[Zarazua] was lying about what . . . Hight did in this case and that . . . Hight knew

nothing about what was going on in Topeka.” R. vol. 5, 7. Citing the Alliston letter

and explaining that Alliston now refused to talk to him, defense counsel asked the

district court to subpoena Alliston as a trial witness for the purpose of impeaching

Zarazua with a prior inconsistent statement. The court granted the subpoena.

Trial began on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, and the district court issued a bench

warrant for the subpoenaed Alliston on the same day. Balocca testified for the

3 Appellate Case: 24-3074 Document: 54-1 Date Filed: 08/18/2025 Page: 4

government, explaining that he informed law enforcement about the

methamphetamine Hight was receiving in her garage and telling the jury about the

two controlled buys. Zarazua, Baker, and Madrigal, who all took pleas, also testified

for the government. Zarazua testified that Hight purchased methamphetamine from

her and then sold it to others. Zarazua also testified that Hight would store large

amounts of methamphetamine in her garage in exchange for methamphetamine.

Zarazua confirmed the events of the March 15 delivery described above, explaining

that she had coordinated the delivery and that Hight had agreed to let Zarazua use her

garage for that delivery.

Baker and Madrigal also testified about the March 15 delivery. Baker

explained that Zarazua had asked him to store methamphetamine after it was

delivered to Hight’s garage, and he’d agreed. So he went to Hight’s address;

Madrigal showed up and backed into Hight’s garage, and he helped unload the

methamphetamine from Madrigal’s car with Madrigal, Hight, and Zarazua. Baker

took a black duffel bag full of methamphetamine from Hight’s home, and law

enforcement ultimately arrested him with this bag. Madrigal told the same story as

Baker, recounting that she had arrived at Hight’s address and backed into Hight’s

garage, where Baker and Zarazua unloaded the drugs from her car while Hight

watched.

The government also called an investigator, James Landry, to testify about

Balocca’s role as a confidential informant, the controlled buys, and the events of

March 15. During cross-examination, the defense twice brought up Landry’s grand-

4 Appellate Case: 24-3074 Document: 54-1 Date Filed: 08/18/2025 Page: 5

jury testimony, trying to demonstrate to the jury that Landry had lied to the grand

jury. The government objected on both occasions and, during sidebars at the bench,

defense counsel explained to the court that Landry told the grand jury Hight had

confessed but, according to defense counsel, Hight had done no such thing. Yet both

times this issue arose during the government’s case, defense counsel either relented

or withdrew the question.

The government concluded its case on Thursday afternoon, and Hight moved

for acquittal under Federal Rule of Evidence 29. The district court denied that

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