Case: 21-40674 Document: 00516337644 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/31/2022 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED May 31, 2022 No. 21-40674 Lyle W. Cayce Summary Calendar Clerk United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Cristian Jose Gomez-Fajardo, Defendant—Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 5:20-CR-1618 Before King, Costa, and Ho, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Cristian Jose Gomez-Fajardo appeals his conviction of unlawfully transporting an undocumented alien within the United States and conspiracy to do the same. He argues that the district court reversibly erred when it excluded his “reverse 404(b)” evidence. We affirm. * Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4. Case: 21-40674 Document: 00516337644 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/31/2022 No. 21-40674 I. On August 10, 2020, Cristian Jose Gomez-Fajardo drove a blue Nissan Versa to a United States Border Patrol checkpoint near Laredo, Texas. He had three passengers with him: Cristian Chanel Rosario, a United States legal permanent resident, and two illegally present Mexican immigrants. One of the Mexican immigrants testified as follows. He paid $8,000 for someone to smuggle him into the United States; as part of his transport, he was told to find a blue car in a parking lot of a pizza place. He arrived at that parking lot to see the blue Nissan Versa with Rosario sitting in the driver’s seat. Rosario asked him where the immigrants were from, and he told Rosario they were from Mexico. After Gomez-Fajardo joined the trio, Rosario moved to the backseat, Gomez-Fajardo got into the driver’s seat, and he began to drive the car to San Antonio. On the way, the immigrants asked Gomez-Fajardo “how the crossing was going to happen,” and Gomez- Fajardo told them “to relax,” that he “was going to take care of it,” and that he “would be doing the talking.” When the four men arrived at the checkpoint, one of the immigrants informed the border patrol agent conducting the inspection that he was “illegal” and that agent removed the men from the car. Gomez-Fajardo was subsequently interviewed by another border patrol agent and explained that he had stopped at the store where the immigrants approached him and offered to pay him “a lot” to drive them to San Antonio. He refused to answer any more questions. Gomez-Fajardo was subsequently charged with unlawfully transporting an undocumented alien within the United States and conspiracy to do the same in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324. Gomez-Fajardo’s argument in his defense was that he did not know that his passengers were 2 Case: 21-40674 Document: 00516337644 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/31/2022 No. 21-40674 undocumented and that he was duped by Rosario into transporting them. In support of that theory, Gomez-Fajardo filed a motion with the court to admit “reverse 404(b)” testimony from a …
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