Case: 17-40895 Document: 00514704588 Page: 1 Date Filed: 10/31/2018 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 17-40895 United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED October 31, 2018 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Lyle W. Cayce Plaintiff - Appellee Clerk v. EFRAIN GONZALEZ, Defendant - Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Before REAVLEY, ELROD, HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Efrain Gonzalez was convicted by a jury for conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and sentenced to 136-months imprisonment. On appeal, Gonzalez challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for both his involvement in the conspiracy and the quantity of cocaine attributable to him, as well as the sentence imposed. We AFFIRM the district court on all issues. I. Gonzalez, a citizen of El Salvador illegally in the United States, was indicted pursuant to a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) investigation into a large-scale cocaine distribution network responsible for moving cocaine between Mexico and the United States. Case: 17-40895 Document: 00514704588 Page: 2 Date Filed: 10/31/2018 No. 17-40895 As part of that investigation, the DEA determined that an individual named Laura Perez-Tinajero was one of the network’s key distributers, and it established camera surveillance on her home in Dallas. An individual named Wilfredo Reyes, from New York, was a regular customer of Perez-Tinajero, who on multiple occasions drove a tractor-trailer to Perez-Tinajero’s home in Dallas to purchase cocaine, which he then transported back to New York for resale. In April 2015, the cameras emplaced by the DEA outside Perez-Tinajero’s home filmed Gonzalez, also from New York, accompanying Reyes into one such meeting. After Reyes and Gonzalez departed the home, a traffic stop by local police discovered approximately three kilograms of cocaine hidden in a concealed compartment of the tractor-trailer, and both men were arrested. In total, eighteen individuals were indicted in connection with the investigation, though only Gonzalez and one other individual went to trial. At Gonzalez’s trial, Perez-Tinajero testified that Gonzalez was involved in the transaction to purchase cocaine at her residence, and that he had urged her to “front” (i.e. loan on consignment) Reyes and himself the third kilogram of cocaine—in addition to the two kilograms that they purchased with $56,000 in cash. The government also produced evidence that Perez-Tinjero’s hub of the conspiracy in Dallas was responsible for distributing at least 450 kilograms of cocaine. Gonzalez’s motion for a judgment of acquittal was denied. The jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that Gonzalez was guilty of conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute. The jury also found beyond a reasonable doubt that Gonzalez was directly involved with, or should reasonably have foreseen that the conspiracy involved, five or more kilograms of cocaine. The mandatory minimum for a crime involving five or more kilograms of cocaine is 10-years imprisonment, and the Sentencing Guidelines range for Gonzalez was 121 to 151 months. 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(ii). The 2 Case: 17-40895 Document: 00514704588 Page: 3 Date ...
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