United States Of America v. Escobar De Bright

742 F.2d 1196 (1984)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In April 1981, Ernesto Ayala-Zarate contacted Manny Banda, a paid informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration, about the purchase of heroin. Ernesto gave Banda D's telephone number. Banda arranged to meet D and, after meeting her, persuaded her to drive immediately to Mexico. At trial, D testified that she drove to Mexico only because she felt threatened by Banda and that she did not know that he planned to import heroin. After entering Mexico, she drove back across the border where her 17-year-old son, Francisco, entered the automobile. Her car was later stopped by United States Customs Patrol officers. The officers searched Francisco and discovered four ounces of heroin. D and Ernesto and Hector Ayala-Zarate were named in the four-count indictment. The jury found D guilty on all four counts. D challenges her conspiracy conviction in that the district court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that she could not be found guilty of conspiracy if the jury determined that she 'conspired' only with the government agent, Manny Banda.