Romero

MEMORANDUM *

Pablo Romero appeals his conviction for conspiracy to distribute heroin (Count 1) and aiding and abetting in the possession with intent to distribute heroin (Count 20). Romero contends that the jury instructions impermissibly amended Count 20 of the First Superseding Indictment in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Romero also contends that the jury’s guilty verdicts on Counts 1 and 20 of the First Superseding Indictment were inconsistent, and thus must be reversed for insufficient evidence. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM.

A. Factual Background

In mid-1998, the DEA received information regarding the drug trafficking activities of Felipe Ruiz-Castro and Francisco Mora-Garcia in Hawaii, resulting in a massive drug investigation and prosecution. The investigation revealed that Romero served as a heroin distributor on Maui for Jorge Salazar in 1999 and 2000. At this time, Romero’s girlfriend was Melinda Vanetten. Vanetten would often accompany Romero to Salazar’s home, where she witnessed Romero give Salazar around $200 at least once a week, and also witnessed Salazar give Romero quantities of heroin for him to distribute. Vanetten accompanied Romero in his car as…