Minerva Figueroa v. United States

Minerva Figueroa appeals from a judgment of conviction of a violation of 21 U.S.C. § 176a following the guilty verdict of a jury. She was indicted on one count, reading as follows:

The sole ground of appeal is that the evidence is not sufficient to sustain a judgment of conviction. In such a case “the correct test is whether ‘reasonable minds could find that the evidence excludes every hypothesis but that of guilt.’ ” Kaplan v. United States, 9 Cir., 1964, 329 F.2d 561, 563 . In considering the question we must, of course, view the evidence, taking into account reasonable inferences which may be drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the government. Glasser v. United States, 1942, 315 U.S. 60 , 62 S.Ct. 457 , 86 L.Ed. 680 .

In April, 1964, Valenzuela and Rodriguez, together with one Ernest Venero and one Israel Dagneses-Alayon and another person not identified, met in the apartment of Valenzuela at 2300 Bellevue, Los Angeles. Dagneses was given $50 by Valenzuela to put four tires on Dagneses’ car. On May 12, Dagneses, Rodriguez and Venero met on the roof of the house where Venero and his parents had an apartment. Dagneses told Venero that the tires were on the car so that…