United States v. Robert Harry Gould

This is an appeal by Robert Harry Gould from his conviction on two counts of (1) knowingly smuggling and clandestinely introducing marihuana into the United States and (2) knowingly concealing and facilitating the transportation and concealment of marihuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 176a. We affirm.

The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the government, is as follows: Appellant, a twenty-one year-old college student who lived in Mission Beach, California, asked one Dominic Chimblo to help him obtain marihuana. On November 27, 1967, Chimblo accompanied Gould and Gould’s roommate, Paul Fleisher, to a ranch in Mexico and introduced them to the proprietor, one Dave, who sold Gould and Fleisher sixty kilos of marihuana. Unknown to the others, Chimblo was acting as an agent for the United States government in order to “help himself” in a pending narcotics charge. The marihuana was loaded into a 1957 Ford supplied by Dave which was driven across the border in the early morning of November 28 by Chimblo. Gould and Fleisher preceded Chimblo across the border in Fleisher’s ear. Both cars passed the border inspection — Fleisher's because it contained no marihuana and…