United States v. Jose Maria Sindin

On April 20, 1979, defendant Jose Maria Sindin, a Colombian sailor, was convicted after jury trial on a two count indictment that charged him with knowingly and intentionally importing cocaine into the United States and possessing that narcotic with the intent to distribute it in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. §§ 841(a)(1) and 952(a). The gross weight of the cocaine in issue was approximately 1,400 grams. Since Sindin could not speak English, an interpreter at trial translated all questions from English to Spanish and all answers from Spanish to English. After the return of the jury’s verdict of…