United States v. Ordonez

286 F. App'x 224
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedAugust 8, 2008
Docket06-41760
StatusUnpublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 286 F. App'x 224 (United States v. Ordonez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth 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. Ordonez, 286 F. App'x 224 (5th Cir. 2008).

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

Gerber Waldemar Ordonez, William B. Bradley, and Sixto Sanchez Lugo were convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Or-donez was also convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. They raise numerous challenges to their conspiracy convictions and sentences. Because the district court committed no reversible error, we AFFIRM their convictions and sentences.

I.

Marco Guardiola was the central figure in a large conspiracy to distribute cocaine, which he ran out of the Dallas, Texas, area. Guardiola took over the business in 2004 from his former boss, Miguel Martinez, after Martinez was killed. Guardiola received drugs from an organization based in Mexico and distributed them to various places throughout the United States. Juan Cordova was his right hand man, assisting him in distributing large amounts of cocaine. Guardiola distributed cocaine to Chicago, Illinois to the organization’s contact in Chicago he knew as “Compa” or “Compadre,” and later identified as defendant Sixto Sanchez Lugo. Guardiola began transporting cocaine to Lugo in Chicago in 2004.

On trips to Chicago, Guardiola also delivered cocaine to Kevin Bell, who, in turn, delivered it to defendant William Bradley at his home in Indianapolis, Indiana. Kevin Bell also delivered cocaine directly from the Dallas area to Bradley in Indianapolis.

Guardiola also distributed cocaine in the Dallas area. He sold cocaine to Brad Holland, who sold it to defendant Gerber Or-donez. In addition to supplying Ordonez with cocaine he received from Guardiola, Holland purchased methamphetamine from Ordonez.

Guardiola was arrested in September 2004 and began cooperating with law enforcement. Many of his co-conspirators were eventually discovered by law enforcement and arrested.

II.

Lugo, Bradley, and Ordonez were indicted for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute and dispense cocaine from January 1, 2004, through January 11, 2006 in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Ordonez was charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and dispense methamphetamine, from January *228 1, 2004 through February 8, 2006, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and aiding and abetting the same, under 18 U.S.C. § 2.

After a trial, the jury found each defendant guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The jury also found Ordonez guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Lugo was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 151 months and five years of supervised release. Bradley was sentenced to 121 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release. Ordonez was sentenced to 240 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for his cocaine conspiracy conviction, to be served consecutively with a sentence of 360 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for his methamphetamine conspiracy conviction.

III.

A.

Lugo challenges the sufficiency of the evidence against him. He also challenges the admission of extrinsic evidence of his 2001 detention in a Chicago airport and the admission of evidence of cocaine and drug paraphernalia found in his home, contending that the evidence was inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b).

B.

Bradley also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence against him. Additionally, he challenges his sentence, contending that the district court erred by enhancing his offense level and denying an adjustment to his Guidelines range on the basis of firearms and drug paraphernalia found in his home. Bradley contends that the court erred by not applying an adjustment to his offense level because he was only a minor or minimal participant in the conspiracy. He also contends that his sentence is unreasonable and that the district court did not sufficiently explain its reasons for imposing it.

C.

Ordonez, likewise, challenges the sufficiency of the evidence against him. He also contends that the district court did not give sufficient preliminary instructions to the jury or sufficient instructions regarding the nature of the conspiracies and the testimony of co-conspirators. Ordonez also challenges the admission of evidence that he threatened the wife of a witness and the exclusion of testimony to impeach another witness’s testimony regarding possession of a cell phone in jail. 1

We now turn to address the arguments raised by the three appellants.

IV.

1.

We first consider Lugo’s argument that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. Lugo moved for judgment of acquittal, so we review the district court’s denial of that motion de novo. United States v. Williams, 520 F.3d 414, 420 (5th Cir.2008). We review the sufficiency of the evidence to determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most *229 favorable to the verdict, a rational jury could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. The elements of the offense of conspiracy to distribute cocaine are (1) an agreement with one other person to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, cocaine; (2) defendant’s knowledge of the agreement; and (3) defendant’s voluntary participation in the conspiracy. 21 U.S.C. § 846; 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); United States v. Thomas, 348 F.3d 78, 82 (5th Cir.2003).

We hold that the evidence was sufficient to support Lugo’s conviction. Lugo’s co-conspirators, Guardiola and his right-hand man, Juan Cordova, testified that they personally delivered many kilograms of cocaine to Lugo on more than one occasion. They identified him in court as the man they knew as “Compa” or “Compadre.” Guardiola testified that he made at least three deliveries to Lugo in Chicago, delivering between 15 and 20 kilograms of cocaine each time. Cordova testified that he went to deliver cocaine to Lugo and received payment from Lugo. Kelly Leal and Juan Guardiola, Marco Guardiola’s brother, testified that they flew to Chicago in November of 2004 to hand “Compa” a cell phone so that Marco could ask him for money that was owed for a past cocaine sale.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
286 F. App'x 224, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-ordonez-ca5-2008.