United States v. Jose Garcia

Jose Luis Garcia was charged with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise (“CCE”) in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848 , conspiracy to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 , possession with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 , unlawful use of a communication facility in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843 , and money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 . Garcia was convicted on all counts after a jury trial and now appeals.

The government’s theory of the case was that Garcia was the leader of a large cocaine distribution organization between 1987 and 1989. The evidence at trial showed Garcia’s involvement with numerous individuals in several transactions over the period of those years. There was evidence that Garcia used a hobby shop that he owned as cover for the drug trafficking business he operated. There was also evidence concerning Garcia’s 1988 state court conviction for conspiracy to purchase 43 kilograms of cocaine in Fresno, California, in 1987. This evidence played a prominent role in the government’s case in chief. The other crimes that formed the basis of the CCE charge were alleged to have taken place in…