T
The420Guy
Guest
A federal judge has ordered a new trial for two undocumented Mexican
immigrants convicted of growing more than 1,000 marijuana plants in
northern California. U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell, Jr.'s ruling
overturned jury verdicts that could have sent Miguel Navarro Viayra, 25,
and Manuel Alvarez Guerra, 22, to prison for 10 years.
Both were arrested two years ago at a remote Mendocino National Forest camp
and charged with conspiracy, manufacturing marijuana plants and possessing
firearms to facilitate drug trafficking.
A jury found the two guilty of conspiracy and manufacturing, but deadlocked
on the gun charges.
The judge's ruling bolsters a popular defense argument that undocumented
immigrants, believing themselves recruited for honest work, become hostage
laborers for major marijuana growers. Federal prosecutors had portrayed the
pair as opportunists trying to make fast money growing pot.
Viayra and Guerra told jurors they had no access to weapons and faced armed
guards who promised to shoot them if they tried to leave. Viayra said he
was hired in Fresno for a Sacramento construction job. Guerra said, while
in Mexico, he was offered a job cutting wood in northern California. The
two were stripping marijuana leaves the day before their arrest.
In Damrell's 21-page ruling issued Wednesday, he noted "the lack of direct
evidence connecting these defendants to the weapons and ammunition, and
circumstances of these two young, virtually penniless, likely i! lliterate,
and illegal (immigrants) who were found abandoned in a remote camp in the
wilderness with apparently no idea where they were."
The two were sleeping when 10 law enforcement officers raided the site.
Nearly 20 others, including the growers, fled without being caught, court
testimony indicated.
Damrell's ruling also questioned contentions that the two could have freely
left the camp. If they had left, he wrote, "where could they have gone?"
Prosecutors offered no comment on the ruling. Their options include
appealing Damrell's decision, retrying the case or dismissing charges.
Complete Title: Federal Judge Overrules Jury's Guilty Verdict in Pot Case
----------------
CA: Federal Judge Overrules Guilty Verdict in Pot Case
June 15, 2002 at 14
33 PT
By The Associated Press
immigrants convicted of growing more than 1,000 marijuana plants in
northern California. U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell, Jr.'s ruling
overturned jury verdicts that could have sent Miguel Navarro Viayra, 25,
and Manuel Alvarez Guerra, 22, to prison for 10 years.
Both were arrested two years ago at a remote Mendocino National Forest camp
and charged with conspiracy, manufacturing marijuana plants and possessing
firearms to facilitate drug trafficking.
A jury found the two guilty of conspiracy and manufacturing, but deadlocked
on the gun charges.
The judge's ruling bolsters a popular defense argument that undocumented
immigrants, believing themselves recruited for honest work, become hostage
laborers for major marijuana growers. Federal prosecutors had portrayed the
pair as opportunists trying to make fast money growing pot.
Viayra and Guerra told jurors they had no access to weapons and faced armed
guards who promised to shoot them if they tried to leave. Viayra said he
was hired in Fresno for a Sacramento construction job. Guerra said, while
in Mexico, he was offered a job cutting wood in northern California. The
two were stripping marijuana leaves the day before their arrest.
In Damrell's 21-page ruling issued Wednesday, he noted "the lack of direct
evidence connecting these defendants to the weapons and ammunition, and
circumstances of these two young, virtually penniless, likely i! lliterate,
and illegal (immigrants) who were found abandoned in a remote camp in the
wilderness with apparently no idea where they were."
The two were sleeping when 10 law enforcement officers raided the site.
Nearly 20 others, including the growers, fled without being caught, court
testimony indicated.
Damrell's ruling also questioned contentions that the two could have freely
left the camp. If they had left, he wrote, "where could they have gone?"
Prosecutors offered no comment on the ruling. Their options include
appealing Damrell's decision, retrying the case or dismissing charges.
Complete Title: Federal Judge Overrules Jury's Guilty Verdict in Pot Case
----------------
CA: Federal Judge Overrules Guilty Verdict in Pot Case
June 15, 2002 at 14
33 PTBy The Associated Press
