United States v. Walczak ( 2004 )

United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
January 22, 2004
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 03-50340 c/w
No. 03-50406
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
HENRY SIDNEY WALCZAK,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. EP-02-CR-1164-ALL-EP
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Before JOLLY, SMITH, and WIENER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Henry Sidney Walczak appeals his convictions, following
a jury trial, of importation of marijuana and possession of
marijuana with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C.
§§ 952 and 841(a). The district court sentenced Walczak to
concurrent 37-month prison terms and three-year supervised-
release terms.
Walczak contends the trial evidence was insufficient to
support the knowledge element of the convictions, in that the
*
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that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent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.
No. 03-50340 c/w
No. 03-50406
-2-
100.2 pounds of marijuana found by U.S. Customs Inspectors had
been concealed in various hidden compartments within the truck he
had allegedly bought only a week earlier in Mexico. The evidence
was not insufficient to support an inference that Walczak knew
that the marijuana was hidden in his truck. See United States
v. Villarreal, 324 F.3d 319, 322 (5th Cir. 2000); United States
v. Jones, 185 F.3d 459, 464 (5th Cir. 1999). Although Walczak
did not appear to be especially nervous when initially stopped
and questioned by Customs officials at the Ysleta port of entry,
he subsequently provided inconsistent statements to investigating
inspectors and agents. For instance, Walczak initially told
inspectors that he had bought his truck three weeks earlier from
an El Paso dealership, but, after the dismantling of his truck
began, he told a Customs Special Agent that he had bought the
truck only a week earlier from a man in a bar in Juarez, whom he
could identify only by the man’s first name. Moreover, the jury
was authorized to determine that Walczak’s general disavowal of
knowledge of the marijuana was implausible, because Walczak’s
story offered no reasonable time or opportunity for the allegedly
unknown smugglers to retrieve the marijuana from his truck within
the United States. See Villarreal, 324 F.3d at 324. The
evidence was sufficient to support the knowledge element of
Walczak’s convictions.
Walczak’s convictions are AFFIRMED.