United States v. Joseph Christopher Ortiz

Before ELY and HUFSTEDLER, Circuit Judges, and CONTI, District Judge.

After a jury trial, Ortiz was convicted on one count of an indictment charging a conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute, a violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 , and on a second count charging the substantive offense of possessing the same marijuana with intent to distribute, a violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a). On the conspiracy conviction, the District Court committed Ortiz, who was twenty-one years of age at the time of his convictions, to the custody of the Attorney General for treatment pursuant to the Youth Corrections Act, 18 U.S.C. § 5010 (b). On the substantive count, however, the District Court treated Ortiz as an adult, sentencing him to five years confinement, with the sentence suspended and Ortiz placed on probation for five years, said sentence to be served consecutively to Ortiz’s commitment under the Youth Corrections Act.

On this appeal, Ortiz originally made three contentions: (1) that the District Court erred in reversing its original order suppressing the incriminating contraband, (2) that the search disclosing the contraband was illegal, and (3) that the evidence…