USA v. Martin Martinez-Estrada

Filing

UNPUBLISHED OPINION FILED. [10-50152 Affirmed ] Judge: JLW , Judge: RHB , Judge: FPB Mandate pull date is 01/19/2011 for Appellant Martin Martinez-Estrada [10-50152]

USA v. Martin Martinez-Estrada Case: 10-50152

Document: 00511335594 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/29/2010

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS United States Court of Appeals FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Fifth Circuit FILED
N o . 10-50152 S u m m a r y Calendar December 29, 2010 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk

U N IT E D STATES OF AMERICA, P la in t iff - Appellee v. M A R T I N MARTINEZ-ESTRADA, also known as Luis Chavez-Martinez, also k n o w n as Victoriano Martinez-Estrada, D e fe n d a n t - Appellant

A p p e a l from the United States District Court fo r the Western District of Texas U S D C No. 4:09-CR-253-7

B e fo r e WIENER, BARKSDALE, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges. P E R CURIAM:* M a r t in Martinez-Estrada appeals his 130-month sentence imposed after h is jury-trial conviction for possession, with intent to distribute, more than 100, b u t less than 1000, kilograms of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) a n d 18 U.S.C. § 2. Martinez contends: (1) the district court abused its discretion b y admitting alleged hearsay testimony of Agent Holguin, a member of the Drug E n fo r c e m e n t Agency Task Force, regarding a description of Martinez' personal

Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.

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Case: 10-50152 Document: 00511335594 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/29/2010 No. 10-50152 a p p e a r a n c e ; and (2) his rights were substantially affected by admission of this t e s t im o n y because it improperly bolstered the testimony of his two cod e fe n d a n ts. Hearsay is "a statement, other than one made by the declarant while t e s t ify in g at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the m a t t e r asserted". FED. R. EVID. 801(c). Such testimony is generally not

a d m is s ib le as evidence, unless it falls within an exception. See FED. R. EVID. 8 0 2 . The district court's evidentiary ruling is reviewed for abuse of discretion, s u b je c t to a harmless-error analysis. United States v. Crawley, 533 F.3d 349, 3 5 3 (5th Cir. 2008); see FED. R. EVID. 103(a). In other words, an evidentiaryr u lin g error is reversible only where it substantially affects defendant's right to a fair trial. Crawley, 533 F.3d at 353; FED. R. EVID. 103(a). T h e district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting Agent Holguin's t e s t im o n y . The Government asked Agent Holguin to testify specifically about in fo r m a t io n he provided to another law enforcement agent during the course of t h e investigation. The information relayed was based on details provided during in t e r v ie w s of Martinez' co-defendants and included: a description of Martinez a s wearing a black T-shirt and camouflage trousers during the commission of the c r im e , and having a distinctive tattoo around his right eye. The description was n o t offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, but rather to explain how A g e n t Holguin proceeded in the investigation. Out-of-court statements, offered to provide background information to explain the actions of investigators, are not h e a r s a y . United States v. Dunigan, 555 F.3d 501, 507 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 1 2 9 S. Ct. 2450 (2009). In any event, any error was harmless because admission of the testimony d id not substantially affect Martinez' rights. See id. at 509 (holding prosecutor's s ta tem e n t s did not substantially effect defendant's right to fair trial). The record is replete with evidence of the description co-defendants provided to Agents r e g a r d in g Martinez' appearance, including the testimony of two co-defendants 2

Case: 10-50152 Document: 00511335594 Page: 3 Date Filed: 12/29/2010 No. 10-50152 w h o explained the descriptions they provided to agents. Furthermore, the record reflects additional, overwhelming evidence of Martinez' participation in t h e drug venture: two co-defendants testified Martinez was one of seven men r e c r u ite d to transport marijuana into the United States from Mexico, carried one o f the bags containing a substance confirmed to be marijuana, acted as a t r a n s la t o r for the non-English speaking participants, and even made some of the d e c is io n s during the trip. A F F IR M E D .

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