United States v. Juan Carlos Bautista-Avila, United States of America v. Gabriel Figueroa-Levya, United States of America v. Jorge Armenta-Estrada

Defendants Juan Carlos Bautista-Avila, Gabriel Figueroa-Levya, and Jorge Armen-ta-Estrada appeal their convictions for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1) & 846. We have jurisdiction over their timely appeals pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We reverse the convictions of Bautista-Avila and Figueroa-Levya and remand to the district court for a hearing to set bail and conditions pending further proceedings. We affirm the conviction of Ar-menta-Estrada.

I. Facts

As with all drug conspiracies, the facts of this case are voluminous, involving various phone calls and sundry meetings between the principal parties, DEA Agent Delgado, Jose Trinidad Quiroz-Sanchez, and Armenta-Es-trada. Briefly, those facts demonstrate that Quiroz-Sanchez and Armenta-Estrada agreed to sell to Agent Delgado 100 kilograms of cocaine, 24.5 grams of which would be sold first as a pre-deal “test” of the parties. Ultimately, Quiroz-Sanchez instructed Armenta-Estrada to take Agent Delgado to Motel 6 Room # 1032 to consummate the deal. Previously that day, DEA agents had observed Quiroz-Sanchez and Armenta-Es-trada visit Jose Luis Ibarra-Velasquez and…