United States v. Maria Sanchez-Equihua

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Maria Sanchez-Equihua appeals her conviction by jury trial for possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922 (g)(5)(A) and 924(a)(2). We affirm. On appeal, Sanchez-Equihua argues (1) that the district court erred by refusing to suppress certain statements she made pri- or to her arrest on the ground that the statements were spontaneous, as she asserts they were in fact obtained as a result of conduct and/or statements by police officers that were functionally equivalent to interrogation, and (2) that the district court erred in refusing her request for a jury instruction on the innocent possession of firearms, although she acknowledges that this contention is foreclosed by Ninth Circuit precedent.

1. This court reviews de novo a district court’s denial of a motion to suppress, while the district court’s factual findings are reviewed for clear error. United States v. Pope, 686 F.3d 1078, 1080 (9th Cir.2012) (quoting United States v. Willis, 431 F.3d 709 , 713 n. 3 (9th Cir.2005)). The test for whether governmental conduct constituted the functional equivalent of interrogation is whether the police knew or should…