United States v. Ediberto A. Alvarez-Farfan

Ediberto Alvarez-Farfan (“Alvarez”) appeals his jury conviction for distribution of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 . We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we reverse.

Factual and Procedural Background

This case involves three central actors: Rene Blanco, a suspected methamphetamine distributor in Winnemucca, Nevada; Pedro Rivera, a confidential informant working for the Government; and Alvarez, a Mexican immigrant living in Winnemuc-ca.

No one agrees on how these three came to know one another. Alvarez claims that Blanco’s father-in-law hired him to perform odd jobs on his property. He insists that he met Blanco, whom he knew only casually, through that work. The Government maintains that Alvarez knew Blanco because the two ran an illegal drug operation together.

Whatever their relationship, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) began investigating Blanco’s suspected illicit activities in the fall of 2001 and connected Alvarez to Blanco in the process.

On September 21, 2001, the DEA arranged for Rivera to meet Blanco at Blan-co’s home to negotiate a deal in which Rivera would purchase drugs from Blanco. Rivera testified that Blanco…