United States v. De Jesus

MEMORANDUM

Defendant-Appellant Daniel De Jesus (“De Jesus”) appeals his conviction and sentence for knowing or intentional possession of, with intent to distribute, a con *559 trolled substance under 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1), and for knowing or intentional importation of a controlled substance under 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 (a) and 960(a)(1). De Jesus was found with 33.55 kilograms of marijuana in his car and sentenced to twenty-one months’ imprisonment.

De Jesus claims that the district court should have granted his motion for a mistrial because the prosecutor committed misconduct by addressing a series of questions to a government agent that attempted to elicit hearsay statements which conveyed the impression that a companion of De Jesus had implicated him in the charged offenses. To cure any possible prejudice that may have resulted from the alleged misconduct, a stipulation prepared by defense counsel was read to the jury. Because the stipulation served as a cautionary instruction and cured any prejudice to De Jesus, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying De Jesus’s motion for a mistrial.

De Jesus also argues that the government failed to prove that he imported…