Sanchez-Sanchez

MEMORANDUM *

Sergio Sanchez-Sanchez appeals his conviction, following a jury trial, for importation and possession of marijuana and methamphetamine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), 952, and 960. The facts and prior proceedings are known to the parties, and are restated herein only as necessary.

I

Sanchez-Sanchez first contends that the indictment filed against him was duplicitous because — by charging him with importation and possession of two different substances, each carrying different maximum sentences — the indictment joined discrete offenses in each of the two counts.

The government conceded at oral argument that the indictment was indeed duplicitous, but nevertheless argued that the error was cured by the court’s charge to the jury, which required it to find beyond a reasonable doubt that there were 50 grams or more of methamphetamine found in the vehicle driven by Sanchez-Sanchez. In United States v. Ramirez-Martinez, we held that a duplicitous indictment can be remedied in two ways: “(1) the government elects between the charges in the offending count; or (2) the court provides an instruction requiring all members of the jury to agree…