Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-12-1991
Abstract
Defendants-Appellants Carlos Villegas and Fernando Gonzalez appeal from judgments of conviction entered against them on February 2, 1990, upon conditional pleas of guilty, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Weinstein, J.). Both defendants were convicted of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute it, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a). Judge Weinstein sentenced Villegas to a term of imprisonment of 63 months to be followed by a five-year term of supervised release, a $30,000 fine and a special assessment of $50. He sentenced Gonzalez to a term of imprisonment of 60 months to be followed by a five-year term of supervised release, a $30,000 fine and a special assessment of $50. By their conditional pleas, Villegas and Gonzalez reserved for review the rulings by the district court denying, after hearing, their motions to suppress. The motions challenged an investigative stop, a search and seizure and statements made to government agents.
Villegas and Gonzalez both claim that the district court erred in finding that the investigative stop by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration was supported by reasonable suspicion. Villegas further contends that the district court erred in finding that he consented to a search of his shoulder bag and the two shoe boxes (one containing a pound of marijuana and one containing a kilogram of cocaine) found inside the bag. He asserts also that his statement to the agents should be suppressed as "fruit of the poisonous tree." Gonzalez contends that the district court erred in finding that he knowingly and intelligently waived his Miranda rights, which purportedly were read to him by his co-defendant, Villegas.
For the reasons that follow, we reject all the claims of error put forward by Villegas and Gonzalez and affirm the judgments of conviction.
Recommended Citation
Miner '56, Roger J., "US v. Villegas, 928 F. 2d 512 - Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 1991" (1991). Circuit Court Opinions. 308.
https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/circuit_opinions/308
Comments
928 F.2d 512 (1991)
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,
v.
Carlos VILLEGAS and Fernando Gonzalez, Defendants-Appellants.
Nos. 23, 24, Dockets 90-1130, 90-1131.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.
Argued October 3, 1990.
Decided March 12, 1991.
New York Law School location: File #1089, Box #127