United States v. Joseph Baldamar Cisneros

This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction in a non jury trial in which the defendant, Joe Cisneros, was found guilty of two counts of violating 21 U.S.C. § 174 , and one count of violating 26 U.S.C. § 4705 (a) as a result of his participation in a sale of 30.02 grams of heroin on May 12, 1969. Our jurisdiction rests upon 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

Carol Thomas, a co-participant in this transaction, had made two previous sales of heroin to government agents, but she was never aware that she was doing business with agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Agent Ozment, in an effort to reach her source of supply, contacted Thomas regarding yet another purchase of narcotics. She told Ozment that her connection, whose name was Joe, had some heroin for sale. Agents Ozment and Herring, to consummate the sale, were to pick up Thomas, take her to meet her connection at his location, where she could obtain the narcotics, and make the purchase from her. R.T. 48. The agents met Thomas, and she directed them to the vicinity of a house on Spreckles Street, Redondo Beach, California, an area that had been the approximate location of one of the two prior sales made by Thomas. The house on…