United States v. Sergio Nunez-Carreon

The issue in this case is how to decide whether a coconspirator is responsible for an amount of drugs for the purposes of statutory minimum sentencing.

Facts

A Border Patrol agent in Naco, Arizona, saw a van drive across the border from Mexi- eo. It drove off the road in a place where the fence was down. Its headlights were off, even though it was dark out. He chased it. It rammed through a fence, but got stuck when it hit a mesquite tree. The driver and passenger ran, so the agent ran after them. The driver got away, but the agent caught the passenger, Nunez-Carreon.

At trial, Nunez-Carreon testified that he was walking in the square on the Mexican side of Naco when two men drove over to him in the van, and through the open window, made a proposition. He was to check the corral area at the border, where the fence was down, to see if immigration people were around. They would pay him for helping them enter the United States. The two men drove across the border at Nunez-Car-reon’s signal. But instead of paying him when they crossed the border, the men told him to get into the van. The passenger got out and Nunez-Carreon got in. Though he asked to get out, the driver hinted he…