United States v. Juan Rodrigo Gamez-Orduno, Jose Martinez-Carra, Jesus Martinez-Villa

Opinion by Judge BERZON; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge NOONAN

OVERVIEW

BERZON, Circuit Judge:

This case arose from an encounter near the Arizona-Mexico border between the three appellants and several Border Patrol agents, leading to appellants’ arrest, conviction and sentencing for marijuana trafficking and other offenses.

In February of 1998, Border Patrol agents found appellants, along with seven other men, approximately 880 pounds of marijuana, and three handguns, in a trailer near Arivaea, Arizona. Following their arrest, a grand jury returned an indictment charging…