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Criminal Law Keyed to Ohlin
United States v. Alvarez
Citation:
755 F.2d 830 (1985)Facts
Several undercover special agents, including Agent Ariel Rios, met with the defendants Rolando Rios and Ramon Raymond in the parking lot of a store to purchase cocaine. Shortly after, defendant Eduardo Portal arrived at the parking lot and began speaking with them. He told the undercover agents that he could make immediate delivery of two kilograms of cocaine, and then made a call to defendant Victoriano “Macho” Concepcion. After the call, Portal told the agents that the delivery could be made by noon the next day.
At noon the next day, Agent Rios called Concepcion and arrange to meet with him and Portal. They went to a motel and inside the motel office, Concepcion and the two agents met with defendants Augustin Alvarez and Oscar Hernandez. Alvarez told the agents that he was not the cocaine source but that he would make a call and arrange the cocaine delivery. While waiting, the five men waited in the living room of Alvarez and Hernandez’s apartment. At one point, Alvarez told them that he would rather be dead than go back to prison.
Eventually, defendant Mario Simon arrived with the cocaine. The surveillance and backup agents began to converge on the hotel. As they were approaching the door, Agent Rios shouted, “No!” They heard a gun shot. The agents shot the lock off the door and entered the room, in which they found Agent Rios dead.
Alvarez, Simon, Concepcion, Portal, Hernandez, Raymond, and Rios were all convicted of drug possession charges. Alvarez and Simon were convicted of first degree murder. Portal, Concepcion, and Hernandez were convicted with second degree murder. Portal, Concepcion, and Hernandez appealed, arguing that their convictions were an improper extension of the Pinkerton liability rule.
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