United States v. Darnell Garcia
Opinion
Opinion
Hug, J.
I.
OVERVIEW
Darnell Garcia, a former Special Agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) appeals his conviction and sentence in the district court following a five-month jury trial for violating 21 U.S.C. § 846 , narcotics conspiracy; 18 U.S.C. § 641 , theft of government property; 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1), possession with intent to distribute heroin; and 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 (a)(1) and (a)(2), money laundering. His pre-guidelines sentence totaled 80 years. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.
II.
FACTS
On November 21, 1988, Garcia and fellow DEA agents John Jackson and Wayne Countryman were charged in a criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to evade federal income taxes. On November 22, Jackson and Countryman were arrested. Garcia evaded arrest, and in January 1989, fled the United States.
While Garcia was a fugitive, federal grand juries issued two superseding indictments adding two additional defendants and additional charges for a total of 42 counts. Garcia was named in 26 of the counts. The superseding indictments charged the defendants with a wide-ranging conspiracy to steal drugs and money from the DEA, possession and…