United States v. Gabriel Gurrola-Garcia
Opinion
Opinion
Wallace, J.
Gurrola-Garcia was convicted of attempting to export ammunition in violation of 22 U.S.C. §§ 401 and 1934 and certain regulations. He contends on appeal that the district court erred in refusing to grant his motion to quash the indictment. That motion was made on the grounds, first, that the indictment failed to charge a crime and second, that 22 U.S.C. § 1934 and regulations promulgated thereunder, specifically 22 C.F.R. § 127.01 , are unconstitutional. We affirm.
On January 30, 1976, agents of the U.S. Customs Service observed Gurrola-Garcia enter a store in Nogales, Arizona, and then exit with a large brown bag. While still under observation by the agents, he placed the bag under the hood of his vehicle and then proceeded to the port of entry on the Arizona-Mexico border. Before he could cross the border, however, Gurrola-Garcia was stopped. Agents discovered 2500 rounds of high-caliber ammunition in the concealed bag. The ammunition was of types which required an exportation license issued by the Department of State. When Gurrola-Garcia indicated that he had not applied for and did not intend to apply for such a license, he was arrested.