United States v. Deleon

Full title: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. ANGEL DELEON, JOE LAWRENCE…

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO

Date published: May 4, 2018

No. CR 15-4268 JB (D.N.M. May. 4, 2018)

Opinion

No. CR 15-4268 JB

05-04-2018

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. ANGEL DELEON, JOE LAWRENCE GALLEGOS, EDWARD TROUP, a.k.a. "Huero Troup," LEONARD LUJAN, BILLY GARCIA, a.k.a. "Wild Bill," EUGENE MARTINEZ, a.k.a. "Little Guero," ALLEN PATTERSON, CHRISTOPHER CHAVEZ, a.k.a. "Critter," JAVIER ALONSO, a.k.a. "Wineo," ARTURO ARNULFO GARCIA, a.k.a. "Shotgun," BENJAMIN CLARK, a.k.a. "Cyclone," RUBEN HERNANDEZ; JERRY ARMENTA, a.k.a. "Creeper," JERRY MONTOYA, a.k.a. "Boxer," MARIO RODRIGUEZ, a.k.a. "Blue," TIMOTHY MARTINEZ, a.k.a. "Red," MAURICIO VARELA, a.k.a. "Archie," a.k.a. "Hog Nuts," DANIEL Sanchez, a.k.a. "Dan Dan," GERALD ARCHULETA, a.k.a. "Styx," a.k.a. "Grandma," CONRAD VILLEGAS, a.k.a. "Chitmon," ANTHONY RAY BACA, a.k.a. "Pup," ROBERT MARTINEZ, a.k.a. "Baby Rob," ROY PAUL MARTINEZ, a.k.a. "Shadow," CHRISTOPHER GARCIA, CARLOS HERRERA, a.k.a. "Lazy," RUDY PEREZ, a.k.a. "Ru Dog," ANDREW GALLEGOS, a.k.a. "Smiley," SANTOS GONZALEZ, PAUL RIVERA, SHAUNA GUTIERREZ, and BRANDY RODRIGUEZ, Defendants.

Counsel: Fred Federici Attorney for the United States Acting Under Authority Conferred by 28 USC § 515 Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Maria Ysabel Armijo Randy M. Castellano Matthew Beck Assistant United States Attorneys United States Attorney's Office Las Cruces, New Mexico Attorneys for the Plaintiff Richard Sindel Sindel, Sindel & Noble, P.C. Clayton, Missouri --and-- Brock Benjamin Benjamin Law Firm El Paso, Texas Attorneys for Defendant Joe Lawrence Gallegos Patrick J. Burke Patrick J. Burke, P.C. Denver, Colorado --and-- Cori Ann Harbour-Valdez The Harbour Law Firm, P.C. El Paso, Texas Attorneys for Defendant Edward Troup Russel Dean Clark Las Cruces, New Mexico Attorney for Defendant Leonard Lujan James A. Castle Castle & Castle, P.C. Denver, Colorado --and-- Robert R. Cooper Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Billy Garcia Douglas E. Couleur Douglas E. Couleur, P.A. Santa Fe, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Eugene Martinez Joseph E. Shattuck Marco & Shattuck Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Jeffrey C. Lahann Las Cruces, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Allen Patterson John L. Granberg Granberg Law Office El Paso, Texas --and-- Eduardo Solis El Paso, Texas Attorneys for Defendant Christopher Chavez Nathan D. Chambers Nathan D. Chambers, LLC Denver Colorado --and-- Noel Orquiz Deming, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Javier Alonso Scott Moran Davidson Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Billy R. Blackburn Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Arturo Arnulfo Garcia Stephen E. Hosford Stephen E. Hosford, P.C. Arrey, New Mexico --and-- Jerry Daniel Herrera Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Benjamin Clark Pedro Pineda Las Cruces, New Mexico Attorney for Defendant Ruben Hernandez Gary Mitchell Mitchell Law Office Ruidoso, New Mexico Attorney for Defendant Jerry Armenta Larry A. Hammond Osborn Maledon, P.A. Phoenix, Arizona --and-- Margaret Strickland McGraw & Strickland Las Cruces, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Jerry Montoya Steven M. Potolsky Jacksonville Beach, Florida --and-- Santiago D. Hernandez Law Office of Santiago D. Hernandez El Paso, Texas Attorneys for Defendant Mario Rodriguez Jacqueline K. Walsh Walsh & Larranaga Seattle, Washington --and-- Ray Velarde El Paso, Texas Attorneys for Defendant Timothy Martinez Joe Spencer El Paso, Texas --and-- Mary Stillinger El Paso, Texas Attorneys for Defendant Mauricio Varela Amy E. Jacks Law Office of Amy E. Jacks Los Angeles, California --and-- Richard Jewkes El Paso, Texas Attorneys for Defendant Daniel Sanchez George A. Harrison Las Cruces, New Mexico Attorney for Defendant Gerald Archuleta B.J. Crow Crow Law Firm Roswell, New Mexico Attorney for Defendant Conrad Villegas Theresa M. Duncan Duncan, Earnest, LLC Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Marc M. Lowry Rothstein Donatelli, LLP Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Anthony Ray Baca Charles J. McElhinney McElhinney Law Firm, LLC Las Cruces, New Mexico Attorney for Defendant Robert Martinez Marcia J. Milner Las Cruces, New Mexico Attorney for Defendant Roy Paul Martinez Christopher W. Adams Charleston, South Carolina --and-- Amy Sirignano Law Office of Amy Sirignano, P.C. Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Christopher Garcia William R. Maynard El Paso, Texas --and-- Carey Corlew Bhalla Law Office of Carey C. Bhalla, LLC Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Carlos Herrera Justine Fox-Young Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Ryan J. Villa Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Rudy Perez Lisa Torraco Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Donavon A. Roberts Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Andrew Gallegos Erlinda O. Johnson Law Office of Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, LLC Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Santos Gonzalez Angela Arellanes Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Shauna Gutierrez Jerry A. Walz Walz and Associates Albuquerque, New Mexico Attorneys for Defendant Brandy Rodriguez

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Restricted Motion In Limine to Exclude Statements by Michael Jaramillo, filed May 3, 2018 (Doc. 2202)("Motion"). In the Motion, Defendant Edward Troup argues that, when Michael Jaramillo testifies, the Court should not permit him to repeat a statement that he made during a pretrial interview with the FBI: "'JARAMILLO also ran into TROUP several years after he was released from prison at a motorcycle shop in Albuquerque. TROUP was with James GARCIA.'" Motion ¶ 1, at 1 (quoting 4/18/18 Interview of Michael JARAMILLO at 4 (drafted April 19, 2018)(DeLeon 71096), filed April 19, 2018 (Doc. 2135-1)(Exhibit 8 to the Clerk's Minutes)("Jaramillo 302"). Troup asserts that introducing Jaramillo's statement would be an impermissible "attempt to lead the jury to convict Mr. Troup based on an alleged bad character trait, instead of actual evidence." Motion ¶ 2, at 2 (citing Fed. R. Evid. 404(b)). Troup also asserts that, even if Plaintiff United States of America offers Jaramillo's statement for a permissible purpose, it would not be admissible, because the United States did not provide pretrial notice regarding that statement as rule 404(b)(2)(B) of the Federal Rules of Evidence requires. See Motion ¶ 5, at 2-3.¹

1 Troup also argues that, to introduce evidence of a prior crime under rule 404(b) of the Federal Rule of Evidence, "'a prosecutor is required to show by clear and convincing evidence that a prior crime occurred in addition to satisfying other strict requirements.'" Motion ¶ 3, at 2 (quoting Le v. Mullin, 311 F.3d 1002, 1021 (10th Cir. 2002)). Le v. Mullin's statement regarding clear-and-convincing evidence is an application of Oklahoma law, and not of federal law, see 311 F.3d at 1021; in Le v. Mullin, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed an Oklahoma conviction under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, see 311 F.3d at 1006. The Federal Rules of Evidence, however, do not require clear-and-convincing evidence, or even a preponderance of the evidence, to establish a prior crime. See Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. 681, 687-88 (1988).

Rule 404(b), for example, protects against the introduction of extrinsic act evidence when that evidence is offered solely to prove character. The text contains no intimation, however, that any preliminary showing is necessary before such evidence may be introduced for a proper purpose. If offered for such a proper purpose, the evidence is subject only to general strictures limiting admissibility such as Rules 402 and 403.

. . . .

We conclude that a preliminary finding by the court that the Government has proved the act by a preponderance of the evidence is not called for under Rule 104(a). This is not to say, however, that the Government may parade past the jury a litany of potentially prejudicial similar acts that have been established or connected to the defendant only by unsubstantiated innuendo. Evidence is admissible under Rule 404(b) only if it is relevant. . . . In the Rule 404(b) context, similar act evidence is relevant only if the jury can reasonably conclude that the act occurred and that the defendant was the actor. . . . In the instant case, the evidence that petitioner was selling the televisions was relevant under the Government's theory only if the jury could reasonably find that the televisions were stolen.

Such questions of relevance conditioned on a fact are dealt with under Federal Rule of Evidence 104(b). . . .

In determining whether the Government has introduced sufficient evidence to meet Rule 104(b), the trial court neither weighs credibility nor makes a finding that the Government has proved the conditional fact by a preponderance of the evidence. The court simply examines all the evidence in the case and decides whether the jury could reasonably find the conditional fact -- here, that the televisions were stolen -- by a preponderance of the evidence.

Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. at 687-88.

That Jaramillo saw Troup with James Garcia at a motorcycle shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is not a "crime, wrong, or other act" probative of Troup's character, so rule 404(b) does not apply. Fed. R. Evid. 404(b)(1). Troup's 404(b) argument only makes sense if Jaramillo's statement that he encountered Troup "'several years after he was released from prison,'" is an oblique reference to Troup's time in prison. Motion ¶ 1, at 1 (quoting Jaramillo 302 at 4). Read in context, however, Jaramillo's statement apparently refers to an event that took place several years after Jaramillo -- and not Troup -- was released from prison, so it does not refer to Troup's time in prison. Alternatively, Troup is charged with two murders that occurred in prison, so evidence showing that Troup was in prison is intrinsic evidence and not evidence of a "crime, wrong, or other act," so rule 404(b)'s character evidence prohibition and its notice requirement do not apply. Fed. R. Evid. 404(b)(1)(emphasis added). The Court accordingly denies the Motion.

IT IS ORDERED that the Restricted Motion In Limine to Exclude Statements by Michael Jaramillo, filed May 3, 2018 (Doc. 2202), is denied.

/s/_________

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Counsel:

Fred Federici

Attorney for the United States

Acting Under Authority Conferred by 28 USC § 515
Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Maria Ysabel Armijo
Randy M. Castellano
Matthew Beck

Assistant United States Attorneys
United States Attorney's Office
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Attorneys for the Plaintiff Richard Sindel
Sindel, Sindel & Noble, P.C.
Clayton, Missouri --and-- Brock Benjamin
Benjamin Law Firm
El Paso, Texas

Attorneys for Defendant Joe Lawrence Gallegos Patrick J. Burke
Patrick J. Burke, P.C.
Denver, Colorado --and-- Cori Ann Harbour-Valdez
The Harbour Law Firm, P.C.
El Paso, Texas

Attorneys for Defendant Edward Troup Russel Dean Clark
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Attorney for Defendant Leonard Lujan James A. Castle
Castle & Castle, P.C.
Denver, Colorado --and-- Robert R. Cooper
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Billy Garcia Douglas E. Couleur
Douglas E. Couleur, P.A.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Eugene Martinez Joseph E. Shattuck
Marco & Shattuck
Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Jeffrey C. Lahann
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Allen Patterson John L. Granberg
Granberg Law Office
El Paso, Texas --and-- Eduardo Solis
El Paso, Texas

Attorneys for Defendant Christopher Chavez Nathan D. Chambers
Nathan D. Chambers, LLC
Denver Colorado --and-- Noel Orquiz
Deming, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Javier Alonso Scott Moran Davidson
Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Billy R. Blackburn
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Arturo Arnulfo Garcia Stephen E. Hosford
Stephen E. Hosford, P.C.
Arrey, New Mexico --and-- Jerry Daniel Herrera
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Benjamin Clark Pedro Pineda
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Attorney for Defendant Ruben Hernandez Gary Mitchell
Mitchell Law Office
Ruidoso, New Mexico

Attorney for Defendant Jerry Armenta Larry A. Hammond
Osborn Maledon, P.A.
Phoenix, Arizona --and-- Margaret Strickland
McGraw & Strickland
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Jerry Montoya Steven M. Potolsky
Jacksonville Beach, Florida --and-- Santiago D. Hernandez
Law Office of Santiago D. Hernandez
El Paso, Texas

Attorneys for Defendant Mario Rodriguez Jacqueline K. Walsh
Walsh & Larranaga
Seattle, Washington --and-- Ray Velarde
El Paso, Texas

Attorneys for Defendant Timothy Martinez Joe Spencer
El Paso, Texas --and-- Mary Stillinger
El Paso, Texas

Attorneys for Defendant Mauricio Varela Amy E. Jacks
Law Office of Amy E. Jacks
Los Angeles, California --and-- Richard Jewkes
El Paso, Texas

Attorneys for Defendant Daniel Sanchez George A. Harrison
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Attorney for Defendant Gerald Archuleta B.J. Crow
Crow Law Firm
Roswell, New Mexico

Attorney for Defendant Conrad Villegas Theresa M. Duncan
Duncan, Earnest, LLC
Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Marc M. Lowry
Rothstein Donatelli, LLP
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Anthony Ray Baca Charles J. McElhinney
McElhinney Law Firm, LLC
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Attorney for Defendant Robert Martinez Marcia J. Milner
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Attorney for Defendant Roy Paul Martinez Christopher W. Adams
Charleston, South Carolina --and-- Amy Sirignano
Law Office of Amy Sirignano, P.C.
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Christopher Garcia William R. Maynard
El Paso, Texas --and-- Carey Corlew Bhalla
Law Office of Carey C. Bhalla, LLC
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Carlos Herrera Justine Fox-Young
Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Ryan J. Villa
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Rudy Perez Lisa Torraco
Albuquerque, New Mexico --and-- Donavon A. Roberts
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Andrew Gallegos Erlinda O. Johnson
Law Office of Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, LLC
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Santos Gonzalez Angela Arellanes
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Shauna Gutierrez Jerry A. Walz
Walz and Associates
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Attorneys for Defendant Brandy Rodriguez