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United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT ___________ No. 99-1809 ___________ United States of America, * * Appellee, * * Appeal from the United States v. * District Court for the * District of Minnesota. Hector Lizandro Rios-Ramirez, * also known as "Musico," * [UNPUBLISHED] also known as "Oscar," * * Appellant. * ___________ Submitted: October 19, 1999 Filed: November 4, 1999 ___________ Before BOWMAN, LAY, and BEAM, Circuit Judges. ___________ PER CURIAM. Hector Lizandro Rios-Ramirez ("Rios-Ramirez") was charged in a four count indictment. Count One charged him with conspiring to distribute cocaine from May 12 through May 19, 1998, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(b)(1)(B); Counts Two and Three charged him with distributing cocaine on May 12 and May 13, 1998, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C); and Count Four charged him with distributing cocaine on May 19, 1998, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B). A jury trial was held.1 At trial Rios-Ramirez asserted an entrapment defense, arguing that he was wrongfully induced by a government informant and that he lacked the predisposition to engage in any of the illegal transactions. The trial court instructed the jury on the entrapment defense. Rejecting this defense, the jury found Rios-Ramirez guilty on all four counts. Rios-Ramirez was thereafter sentenced to a term of seventy months imprisonment. The sole issue on appeal is the sufficiency of the evidence for each of the four counts. The standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence is whether, in the light most favorable to the government, and giving the government the benefit of all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the evidence, there is substantial evidence to support the jury's verdict. United States v. Gaines,
969 F.2d 692, 696 (8th Cir. 1992). We have carefully reviewed the record in this case and find that there is substantial evidence that the government informant did not induce Rios-Ramirez to commit the offenses and that there is substantial evidence supporting the government's proof that Rios-Ramirez was predisposed to commit the charged offenses. Additionally, the jury was instructed as to the entrapment defense and, after deliberating and considering all of the evidence, properly rejected it. On the basis of the record presented and the arguments made, we affirm the judgment of conviction. A true copy. Attest: CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT. 1 The Honorable Paul A. Magnuson, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, presiding. -2-
Document Info
Docket Number: 99-1809
Filed Date: 11/4/1999
Precedential Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 10/13/2015