United States v. Jose Romos-Gonzales

MEMORANDUM

A jury convicted Defendant-Appellant Jose Romos-Gonzales of distributing and conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1) and 846, and the district court sentenced him to 188 months in prison. We have jurisdiction over his appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

The district court’s finding that Romos-Gonzales did not invoke his right to counsel on the night of his arrest was not clearly erroneous: three police officers testified to that fact at the suppression hearing. See United States v. I.E.V., 705 F.3d 430, 434 (9th Cir.2012) (denial of motion to suppress reviewed for clear error); United States v. Fitch, 659 F.3d 788, 797 (9th Cir.2011) (describing the clear error standard as “illogical, implausible, or without support in the record”).

Romos-Gonzales forfeited his argument that his Miranda waiver on the night of his arrest was not knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. See United States v. Scott, 705 F.3d 410, 415 (9th Cir.2012) (explaining the difference between a “waiver” and a “forfeiture”). Romos-Gonzales raised this argument in his motion to suppress, but he failed to make it at the suppression hearing when…