United States v. Ruelas

98 F. App'x 615
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided May 5, 2004·No. Nos. 02-50600, 02-50660·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinions

MEMORANDUM *

George Michael Ruelas appeals his convictions for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Ruelas is a former California Highway Patrolman who conspired with other law enforcement officers to use legitimate police intelligence to steal narcotics and cash. The conspiracy included a July 4, 1997 theft of 295 kilograms of cocaine from the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement’s (“BNE”) evidence vault. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

1. Alibi Rebuttal Evidence

The district court did not abuse its discretion in permitting the government to present evidence rebutting Ruelas’s alibi, despite the tardiness of its notice. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12.1 imposes a continuing reciprocal duty on the government and a defendant to disclose the particulars of an alibi defense and its rebuttal. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 12.1. Under the Rule, once a defendant provides adequate notice of an intended alibi, the government must timely disclose “each government rebuttal witness to the defendant’s alibi defense.” Fed.R.Crim.P. 12.1(b)(1). The administration of Rule 12.1 is left to the discretion of the district court, United States v. Portillo, 633 F.2d 1313, 1324 (9th Cir.1980), and, “[f]or good cause,” it “may grant an exception to any requirement of Rule 12.1(a)—(c).” Fed. R.Crim.P. 12.1(d).

At issue here is a printout from the Chevron Corporation indicating that, on the date of the BNE robbery, Ruelas’s [617] credit card was used to make two purchases at a Tucson, Arizona gas station: the first at 10:58 a.m. and the second at 9:30 p.m. The government disclosed this evidence to the defense, which tends to rebut Ruelas’s alibi, only after Ruelas testified that the two Chevron-card purchases he made that date occurred at approximately 10:30 p.m. Defense counsel moved to exclude the printout under Rule 12.1 as untimely alibi rebuttal evidence. The district court denied this motion on April 24, 2002, finding that due to:

the manner in which this case has unfolded, it seems to me in the interest of justice appropriate for me to waive any technical requirement and permit the government to be able to put on its witnesses.

Because the record supports the district court’s decision to invoke this exception “in the interest of justice” by “waiving] any technical” noncompliance with Rule 12.1 on the government’s part, we find no abuse of discretion. Moreover, even if we assumed that the district court did abuse its discretion, any error would be harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of Ruelas’s guilt. See United States v. Williams, 455 F.2d 361, 364 (9th Cir.1972).

2. Compulsory Process Clause

The district court did not err in denying Ruelas’s motion for a mistrial based on an alleged violation of the Sixth Amendment’s Compulsory Process Clause. “While the Compulsory Process Clause guarantees a criminal defendant the right to present relevant and material witnesses in his defense ... [here] the trial court never barred [Ruelas] from exercising this right.” Alcala v. Woodford, 334 F.3d 862, 879 (9th Cir.2003) (internal citation omitted). On the contrary, the district court issued Ruelas a subpoena with the express purpose of compelling evidentiary support for his alibi. Because the record provides no support for the notion that “the Government acted in bad faith,” Arizona v. Johnson, 351 F.3d 988, 1000 (9th Cir. 2003), when it independently discovered the Chevron printout, Ruelas has failed to establish a violation of his right to compulsory process. That Chevron failed to produce the subpoenaed material for the defense, but produced it for the prosecution, is troubling, but it is not a denial of the defendant’s right to obtain the subpoena and have it enforced.

3. Federal Rules of Evidence 106: The Rule of Completeness

The district court’s decision to exclude portions of the audiotaped conversation between Ruelas and a government informant was not an abuse of discretion. Federal Rules of Evidence 106 provides that:

[w]hen a writing or recorded statement or part thereof is introduced by a party, an adverse party may require the introduction at that time of any other part or any other writing or recorded statement which ought in fairness to be considered contemporaneously with it.

Fed.R.Evid. 106. After carefully reviewing the redacted portions of the transcript, we are satisfied that the district court did not err in finding that none of the excised statements “ought in fairness” to have been presented to the jury. Id.

4. “Multiple Conspiracies” Instruction

Nor did the district court err in determining that the evidence did not warrant a multiple conspiracy instruction. “To distinguish a single from a multiple conspiracy, we examine ‘the nature of the scheme; the identity of the participants; the quality, frequency, and duration of each conspirator’s transactions; and the commonality of time and goals.’ ” United States v. Hopper, 177 F.3d 824, 829 (9th [618] Cir.1999) (quoting United States v. Bibbero, 749 F.2d 581, 587 (9th Cir.1984)). Here, the evidence indicates that Ruelas participated in a single conspiracy.

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United States v. Ruelas, 98 F. App'x 615 (9th Cir. 2004).

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