United States v. Chery Gonzalez

FILED

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

AUG 04 2016

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 14-50478

Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 3:13-cr-01122-JLS-1 v.

CHERY GONZALEZ, MEMORANDUM*

Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California Janis L. Sammartino, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted June 9, 2016 Pasadena, California

Before: RAWLINSON and BEA, Circuit Judges, and EATON,** Judge.

Chery Gonzalez (“Gonzalez”) was convicted by a jury in federal district

court for importation of methamphetamine into the United States in violation of

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The Honorable Richard K. Eaton, Judge for the U.S. Court of International Trade, sitting by designation. U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. Gonzalez appeals the judgment of conviction. We have

jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

1. The district court did not abuse its discretion…

*869 MEMORANDUM **

Chery Gonzalez ("Gonzalez”) was convicted by a jury in federal district court for importation of methamphetamine into the United States in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. Gonzalez appeals the judgment of conviction. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and'we affirm.

1. The. district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Gonzalez’s motion to compel discovery of. all “unknowing courier” evidence in the possession of the United States. “To obtain discovery under Rule 16, a defendant must make a prima facie showing of materiality.” United States v. Mandel, 914 F.2d 1215, 1219 (9th Cir. 1990), “Neither a general description of the information sought nor conclusory allegations of materiality suffice; a defendant must present facts which would tend to show that the Government is in possession of information helpful to the defense.” Id. (emphasis added). Here, Gonzalez provided no information or evidence linking the facts in this case to any “unknowing drug courier” cases she identified (e.g., advertisements in Mexican newspapers, magnets, money smuggling, duplicate keys, or GPS tracking devices), despite repeated requests by the district…

concurring:

I concur in the result.