United States v. Albert Escalante

Escalante, together with others, was indicted for participation in a smuggling ring which allegedly imported some 300 to 500 kilograms of heroin from Mexico with a wholesale value as high as $12,000,000. While Escalante was charged with membership in both a conspiracy to import and a conspiracy to distribute, he was convicted only of the conspiracy to import heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 963 , 952(a) and 960(a)(1). He alleges three errors which merit discussion: that the evidence was insufficient to lead to his conviction; that the court committed reversible error when it failed to sever his case from that of his codefendants; and that the court abused its discretion in failing to grant a mistrial subsequent to the improper introduction of certain evidence. We affirm.

I.

In the fall of 1975, codefendant Vila came to Los Angeles looking for a source of supply for his New York heroin distribution operation. He contacted Leeds, who in turn contacted Reyes and Maldonado. In December of 1975, Reyes and Maldonado drove to San Diego to Escalante’s residence in search of a large scale source of heroin. Escalante introduced them to codefendant Romero. At that time the four…