United States v. Remedios

* 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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
July 11, 2006
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-40320
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JOSE VALENTIN REMEDIOS,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 5:04-CR-1523-ALL
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Before JOLLY, DAVIS, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Jose Valentin Remedios (Remedios) appeals his jury
convictions and 30-month sentences for two counts of transporting
illegal aliens by means of a motor vehicle within the United
States for the purpose of private financial gain, in violation of
8 U.S.C. § 1324. Remedios contends that the evidence at trial
was insufficient to sustain the jury’s verdict. Specifically,
Remedios asserts that the Government did not establish that he
knew the illegal aliens were in the trucks that he was hauling.

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No. 05-40320
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Because Remedios did not move for a judgment of acquittal,
our review of Remedios’ sufficiency claim is restricted to
whether Remedios’ conviction resulted in a manifest miscarriage
of justice. United States v. Galvan, 949 F.2d 777, 782-83 (5th
Cir.1991). “Such a miscarriage would exist only if the record is
devoid of evidence pointing to guilt, or [if] the evidence on a
key element of the offense was so tenuous that a conviction would
be shocking.” Id. at 783 (internal quotation marks and citation
omitted).
The record is not devoid of evidence that Remedios knew
illegal aliens were in the trucks that he was hauling. Two of
the illegal aliens identified Remedios as the man who told them
to get into the trucks and to keep their heads down. The jury is
the arbiter of the credibility of the witnesses. See United
States v. Garza, 990 F.2d 171, 174 (5th Cir. 1993). The evidence
was sufficient to establish that Remedios knew that he was
transporting illegal aliens. See Galvan, 949 F.2d at 782-83.
AFFIRMED.

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