Ochoa-Garcia

United States v. Ochoa-Garcia

Good Law
64 F. App'x 53
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitApril 23, 2003No. 02-50105; D.C. No. CR-01-02075-BTMCalifornia285 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM *

Mario Ochoa-Garcia appeals his conviction for being a deported alien found in the United States. See 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . We affirm.

While Ochoa raises three separate issues, each of them revolves around his claim that he never entered the United States because he was under official restraint from the moment he stepped over the border to the time of his physical capture. See United States v. Gonzalez-Torres, 309 F.3d 594, 597-99 (9th Cir.2002); United States v. Pacheco-Medina, 212 F.3d 1162, 1166 (9th Cir.2000). We disagree. The record makes it plain that Ochoa was not under constant surveillance from the moment he came onto United States soil. 1 That means that he did manage to enter. See United States v. Hernandez-Herrera, 273 F.3d 1213, 1218-19 (9th Cir.2001); United States v. Ramos-Godinez, 273 F.3d 820, 824-25 (9th Cir.2001); United States v. Castellanos-Garcia, 270 F.3d 773, 775 (9th Cir.2001); Martin-Plascencia, 532 F.2d at 1317-18.

Therefore, the indictment was not defective. See United States v. Lualemaga, 280 F.3d 1260, 1263 (9th Cir.2002). Moreover, the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict. See Pacheco-Medina, 212 F.3d at 1163 . Finally, the…

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