United States v. Miranda

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
November 26, 2003
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-51200
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JESUS ROGELIO MIRANDA, also known as Chuy,
Defendant-Appellant.
- - - - - - - - - -
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
(DR-01-CR-45-2-WWJ)
- - - - - - - - - -
Before JOLLY, WIENER, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Defendant-Appellant Jesus Rogelio Miranda appeals his
convictions, following a jury trial, of (1) conspiracy to possess
with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana,
in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and (2) possession of more than
100 kilograms of marijuana with intent to distribute on or about
March 27, 2000, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) and (b).
Miranda was convicted of two other counts of possession of
marijuana with intent to distribute, but he does not challenge
them.

-- 1 of 3 --

2
Miranda contends that the trial evidence was insufficient
to support his convictions of the two counts in question.
With respect to the possession-with-intent to distribute count,
regarding conduct on or about March 27, 2000, Miranda contends that
the evidence was insufficient to establish that a marijuana load
seized by Border Patrol agents on that evening was designated for
the conspiracy in which he was a member, rather than for a separate
conspiracy supplied by a Mexican named “Pollo” or “Poyo.”
The evidence established that, on March 27, 2000, Miranda gave
his associate, Hugo Jimenez, a truck to load a marijuana shipment
as well as keys to the ranch on which Miranda’s partner and
codefendant, Guillermo “Willie” Martinez, received marijuana
shipments for both Poyo’s conspiracy and another in which Miranda
participated. Martinez and Jimenez were apprehended close to the
spot on Martinez’s ranch, near the Rio Grande river, where Border
Patrol agents had just seized 484 pounds of marijuana. Although
Jimenez testified that he did not think that this was the marijuana
load he was supposed to pick up, the evidence supported a jury
finding that Jimenez intended to pick up this load for Miranda.
Accordingly, we affirm Miranda’s Count 4 conviction of possession
with intent to distribute marijuana. See United States v.
Villarreal, 324 F.3d 319, 322 (5th Cir. 2003); United States v.
Gonzales, 121 F.3d 928, 936 (5th Cir. 1997).
Miranda also contends that the trial evidence was insufficient
to support the quantity element of his Count 2 conviction of
possession with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of

-- 2 of 3 --

3
marijuana. He argues that the evidence shows that Poyo’s
marijuana-trafficking group operated separately from the group that
he (Miranda) operated with fugitive codefendant Roberto Bravo, and
that the government failed to prove that his and Bravo’s conspiracy
was involved with more than 1,000 kilograms.
When an indictment charges that a specified minimum quantity
of drugs is involved, proof of that quantity is an element of the
offense under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000). United
States v. DeLeon, 247 F.3d 593, 596 (5th Cir. 2001). To meet this
burden in a drug-conspiracy case, the government only needs to
prove that the “conspiracy as a whole” distributed the quantity of
drugs alleged. United States v. Turner, 319 F.3d 716, 722 (5th
Cir.), cert. denied, 123 S. Ct. 1939 (2003). None dispute that the
overall conspiracy––including the amounts smuggled by Poyo’s
group––far exceeded 1,000 kilograms. In any event, the evidence
supports a jury determination that Miranda’s group, by itself, was
involved with more than 1,000 kilograms.
Miranda’s convictions are AFFIRMED.

-- 3 of 3 --