Rodriguez

MEMORANDUM ***

Appellant Hector German Rodriguez challenges his drug conviction. He claims that the trial court erred in admitting certain evidence. We affirm.

1. Evidence of Prior Conviction

The district court did not abuse its discretion under Rule 404(b) in admitting Rodriguez’s 1996 conviction for smuggling marijuana. The government was required to prove that Rodriguez knowingly possessed a controlled substance, see United States v. Jones, 982 F.2d 380, 382 (9th Cir.1992), and a prior smuggling conviction for the same drug is relevant to this element of the government’s case. The prior conviction was very similar to the charged offense, and occurred just three years earlier. See United States v. Houser, 929 F.2d 1369, 1373 (9th Cir.1991) (holding that four years is not too remote under Rule 404(b)). The prior conviction was established through the testimony of the arresting officer and a certified copy of the state court judgment and commitment order. Finally, these probative aspects of the conviction were not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice under Rule 403. Under these circumstances we find no error in the admission of the 1996 conviction.

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