United States v. Christian Ramos-Godinez

In this appeal we consider, inter alia, whether a brief hiatus in otherwise continuous observation of a deported alien reentering the country is sufficient to establish that the alien was free from official restraint. Under the circumstances presented by this case, we conclude that sufficient evidence exists to support the defendant’s conviction for being a deported alien found in the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 and affirm the judgment of the district court.

I

On April 26, 2000, Christian Ramos-Godinez was deported to Mexico. On May 11, 2000, he reentered the United States a few miles west of the Calexico Port of Entry. Border Patrol Agents John Cwei-ka and Marko Kozina were monitoring the so-called “West Checks,” an area of open fields where the United States and Mexico are separated by the All-American Canal. The Canal is situated north of the U.S.Mexico border and flows east-west at the point that Agent Cweika watched through an infrared scope. A dirt “berm” is the actual physical border between the United States and Mexico. The agents were situated approximately 150 yards to a half-mile away from this border, on a field road east of Hammers Road and north…