United States v. Tyrone Powe, United States of America v. Robert Juarez

Tyrone Powe and Robert Juarez appeal their convictions for conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and theft of funds from a government project in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666 . Powe also appeals his conviction for providing a false statement on a tax return in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206 (1). We affirm.

i.

In 1986, Tyrone Powe, Robert Juarez, Daniel Garner and Virgil Bartlett, all deputy sheriffs with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, were promoted to the elite Major Violators Two Crew (“Majors II”), an anti-narcotics squad assigned to investigate large-scale violations and to seize narcotics and narcotics-related funds. As members of the squad, Powe and Juarez participated in the theft of money seized during their investigations. The officers planted narcotics and filed false affidavits to justify searches of private residences, and testified falsely in suppression hearings to conceal their thefts.

Powe and Juarez played a prominent role in thefts in connection with the Nieto investigation in December, 1986. Powe, the lead officer in the investigation, entered a van without a warrant in search of narcotics. Relying on the cocaine he found in the van, Powe…