United States v. Solomon Tekle

The appellant challenges his conviction on narcotics and related offenses on six grounds, including the district court’s refusal to suppress evidence, ineffective assistance of counsel and the government’s failure to prove an essential element of his money-laundering convictions. We conclude that none of his arguments is persuasive and affirm.

I

A jury in the United States District Court for the Central District of California convicted the appellant Solomon Tekle on fourteen counts of a fifteen-count indictment for conspiracy to import heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 963 , 952; attempt to import heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 963 , 952; participating in, and aiding and abetting, the structuring of financial transactions to avoid currency reporting requirements, in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324 (a)(3) and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (a); attempted tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201 ; subscribing to a false tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206 (1); and money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (a)(1)(B)®. He was sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment. His wife, the co-defendant Lily Tekle, was convicted of the money-laundering and attempted tax evasion…