United States v. Joe Fernando Garcia, Also Known as Joe Hernandez Garcia

Garcia was convicted and sentenced to prison for 18 months on three counts, the sentences to run concurrently. The offense in each count was knowingly transporting illegal aliens and aiding and abetting such transportation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(2) and 18 U.S.C. § 2 .

Garcia makes four contentions of error, but only the fourth is worthy of any extended discussion. The contentions and the short answers to the first three are:

(1) Insufficiency of the evidence to support the convictions. The evidence was conflicting. Viewing it in the light most favorable to the government, it was sufficient.

(2) That the verdict of guilty on three counts was fatally inconsistent with the verdict of not guilty on the fourth count. Consistency is not necessary. Dunn v. United States, 284 U.S. 390, 393 , 52 S.Ct. 189 , 76 L.Ed. 356 (1931). The contention is frivolous.

(3) That the verdicts are ambiguous. This is a variation of his second contention and it likewise is frivolous.

(4) That it was error to read one deposition, since it was not signed.

There were 17 aliens in the van, driven by another, in which Garcia was a passenger. The government, on motion granted by the…