United States v. Abilene Velazquez-Sedano
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Appellant Abilene Velazquez-Sedano was apprehended entering the United States from Mexico at the Calexico, California Port of Entry in a 1996 Toyota 4Runner with $800 in cash and 23.72 kilograms of cocaine in the car’s gas tank. Velazquez-Sedano pled guilty and was convicted of importing cocaine into the United States. Velazquez-Sedano now challenges on appeal the validity of her plea, as well as the sentence imposed by the district court and the conditions of supervised release. We affirm the district court’s judgment. The facts are known to the parties.
First, this case’s facts as admitted by Velazquez-Sedano during her plea col loquy support a finding of deliberate ignorance, and the magistrate judge therefore did not plainly err in explaining the nature of the charge. See United States v. Portillo-Cano, 192 F.3d 1246, 1250 (9th Cir.1999). That Velazquez-Sedano admitted knowledge of smuggling marijuana—and not cocaine—is not a defense; a defendant need not know the type or quantity of the drug being smuggled so long as the defendant knows it is some type of controlled substance. United States v. Carranza, 289 F.3d 634, 644 (9th Cir.2002).