United States v. Prado

815 F.3d 93, 634 Fed. Appx. 323, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 3183, 2016 WL 723350
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit·Decided February 24, 2016·No. Nos. 13-2894-cr (L), 13-3877-cr (Con), 14-115-cr (Con), 14-143-cr (Con)·Published·Cited by 38 cases

Opinion

POOLER, Circuit Judge:

This appeal concerns the jury instructions given with respect to Count 21 of the indictment, which charged defendants-appellants Heriberto Martinez, aka Boxer, and Carlos Ortega, aka Silencio, with aiding and abetting a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), using or carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence or possessing a firearm in furtherance of that crime, in connection with the murder of Mario Alberto Canton Quijada. We hold that, in the wake of Rosemond v. United States, — U.S. -, 134 S.Ct. 1240, 188 L.Ed.2d 248 (2014), general instructions on aiding and abetting liability, such as the instructions given below, are insufficient and plainly erroneous in the context of a § 924(c) charge. We further hold that this error affected Ortega’s, but not Martinez’s, [96] substantial rights, and we therefore vacate Ortega’s conviction on Count 21.

BACKGROUND

I. The Offense Conduct

Martinez and Ortega were members of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, which is a violent international street gang. Martinez was the leader of the Coronados Locos Salvatruchas (“CLS”), a clique, or subgroup, of MS-13 that controlled the Brentwood area of Long Island. Ortega belonged to an MS-13 clique called Sitios Locos Salvatruchas (“STLS”), which is based in El Salvador.

Martinez was indicted on fourteen counts related to racketeering activity and three murders committed in aid of racketeering; Ortega was indicted on twelve counts related to racketeering activity, two murders, and one attempted murder committed in aid of racketeering. Following a jury trial, both defendants were convicted of every count with which they were charged. As is relevant here, Martinez and Ortega were both convicted of Count 21, which charged them with knowingly and intentionally using and carrying a firearm in relation to the murder of Quijada, or aiding and abetting the same, under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. Each defendant was sentenced to life plus a consecutive 60 years; 25 of those additional 60 years were allocated, as required by 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(C)(i), to their convictions on Count 21.

The evidence presented at trial as to Count 21 and the murder of Quijada was as follows. On March 16, 2010, a group of MS-13 members, including Martinez and Ortega, met at the home of Jeremias Ama-ya, aka Payaso, to discuss Quijada, aka Baby Blue. Quijada was also a member of MS-13, specifically the Sureños Locos Sal-vatruchas (“SLS”) clique. The group discussed that Quijada “wasn’t running properly,” that he “was no good for the Mara because he only caused problems,” and that he “only caused problems and never solved a thing.” Tr. at 1223-24. Because of these problems, the MS-13 members present decided that they would require Quijada to kill a rival gang member to prove himself.

Thereafter, a group of MS-13 members, including Ortega, picked up Quijada. There is conflicting testimony as to whether Martinez also accompanied the group on this “mission.” They drove around looking for rival gang members for Quijada to kill, but were unable to find any. Quijada was dropped off at home and the rest of the group returned to Amaya’s home. There, Ortega “said that he had wanted to give [Quijada] the gun, but [Quijada] didn’t want to pick it up.” Tr. at 1776. According to one cooperating witness, upon returning, the group, including Ortega and Martinez, discussed that Quijada “had to be eliminated,” meaning “[k]ill[ed],” because he “only brought or caused problems and ... he was not there to help the [gang].” Tr. at 1227. According to that witness, the group then took a vote, and unanimously voted to pick Quijada up and kill him. Another cooperating witness testified that Ortega said they had to kill Quijada, and Martinez stated that he agreed because if Quijada were arrested he would snitch. By contrast, the testimony of a third cooperating witness, who was not present at that meeting, indicated that the decision to murder Quijada was not made until immediately before the murder. Specifically, he testified that shortly after the murder of Quijada, Ortega told him that when Quijada refused to commit a murder on behalf of the gang, they “had a quick meeting and they had decided to give him a calentón,” Tr. at 406, a beating the gang uses for initiation and punishment. But, Ortega told him, “when they [97] started giving him the calentón they decided to shoot him” instead. Tr. at 406.

Following that meeting, one of the MS-13 members present called Quijada and told him that they were coming to pick him up because they had found some rival gang members. A group of five MS-13 members, including both Martinez and Ortega, then went to pick up Quijada. The group left Amaya’s house, and then spent approximately ten to fifteen minutes in the parking lot outside before going to get Quijada. A cooperating witness testified that he could see the car sitting in the parking lot from the apartment he was in. He stated, “I don’t know what they were doing. I think they were loading the gun.” Tr. at 1778. When police later searched the car, officers found a bag containing dozens of bullets.

The group went to get Quijada, and brought him to the beach. According to one cooperating witness, before leaving for the beach, Martinez grabbed a machete that was in Amaya’s house. At the beach, Amaya took out a gun to shoot Quijada, but the gun jammed. Amaya handed the gun to Martinez, and Martinez gave Ama-ya the machete, which Amaya then used to stab Quijada. Amaya told one cooperating witness that, while he was stabbing Quija-da, the other MS-13 members present were supporting him. Another MS-13 member then stabbed Quijada with a kitchen knife. Quijada was ultimately stabbed to death. Additionally, Martinez gave a statement to police on March 17, 2010, the day after the murder, stating that, after the gun failed, they used a machete and a knife to murder Quijada and that he had brought the machete to the beach. Martinez further stated that after the gun jammed, he hit Quijada with the machete at one point, and that he kicked Quijada so that he fell and was not able to get away. By contrast, there is no evidence that Ortega participated in the assault on and murder of Quijada after the gun appeared.

Finally, there was evidence that the gun Amaya tried to shoot Quijada with, a .22 caliber gun, was the same gun Ortega had tried to give Quijada earlier that night. There was also evidence that that gun belonged to Martinez’s clique.

II. Count 21

A. The Charge

Count 21 charged Martinez and Ortega with brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence in connection with the murder of Quijada. The indictment charged them with 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii), (c)(1)(C) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. The charged provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) provide that

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United States v. Prado, 815 F.3d 93, 634 Fed. Appx. 323, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 3183, 2016 WL 723350 (2d Cir. 2016).

815 F.3d 93 (United States v. Prado) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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