United States v. Antonio Lopez-Perera
Opinion
Opinion
Goodwin, J.
Antonio Lopez-Perera appeals his conviction of violating 18 U.S.C § 922(g)(5)(A), (being an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States in possession of a firearm). He assigns error to the denial of his Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 motion seeking a judgment of acquittal. Because the district court misinterpreted the meaning of the statute, it erred in denying the motion.
I. Background
On May 9, 2004, Lopez-Perera, a citizen of Mexico, drove his van, with no passengers, from Mexico into the San Ysidro Port of Entry in California. When first asked by an officer at the border, Lopez-Perera falsely stated that he was a United States citizen. Lopez-Perera then offered a California security guard identification card as proof of his citizenship.
The officer did not accept the proffered card as proof of citizenship and directed Lopez-Perera towards secondary inspection. Lopez-Perera waited approximately twenty-five minutes in the secondary inspection area and then drove his van toward the north exit of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Border officers noticed Lopez-Perera’s movements and stopped him before he could leave the area.