Ezequial Frank Lopez Vasquez v. United States

Appellant has appealed from a judgment of conviction of the crime of possession of marijuana on which he is serving a sentence of five years imprisonment imposed in the District Court in San Diego on May 22. The sole assignment of error is that the District Court committed error in refusing to permit appellant to withdraw his plea of guilty and enter a plea of not guilty.

Appellant, who is twenty-one years of age, and a co-defendant were jointly indicted for possession of marijuana (21 U.S.C.A. § 176a). An attorney was appointed to represent appellant. The co-defendant hired his own attorney. On March 16 defendant pleaded not guilty. On March 24 he withdrew his plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty. After the co-defendant’s trial and conviction the appellant filed a motion, supported by an affidavit, under which he claimed that he had been nervous, upset and confused at the time of his discussions with the court and with his attorney and that his recollection of the events surrounding the search for the marijuana was confused and unclear and that he first learned that he might have a meritorious legal defense to the indictment on the theory that he might be able to suppress the…