United States v. Earnest Velarde

This is an appeal from a conviction for the assault of Enrique Camarena, a Special Agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111 . Both Camarena and the appellant were guests at a wedding reception at the Calexico Community Center in Calexico, California, on November 9, 1974, when the assault occurred. The jurors could have fairly concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant, after having identified Camarena as a narcotics agent in derogatory terms, incited and participated in a brutal assault in which a number of assailants took part.

The appellant, emphasizing that the agent was off duty at the time of the assault, would have us read into the statute a requirement that the protection of the statute is extended only to the statutorily designated officer and only when he is involved in the performance of his official duties. The appellant also urges that since we are dealing here with an off-duty officer the statute requires proof of the defendant’s awareness of the agent’s official identity. These arguments are unpersuasive. The evidence before the jury was quite sufficient to justify the conclusion that Camarena was singled out…