United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Rodolfo Bensor Gomez, Defendant-appellant, 120 F.3d 271 (10th Cir. 1997)

ORDER AND JUDGMENT^* 

Mr. Gomez was convicted by a jury of possession with intent to distribute more than 50 kilograms of marijuana, 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) (1), 841(b) (1) (C) and 18 U.S.C. § 2, for which he was sentenced to 33 months imprisonment and three years supervised release. He appeals contending that the trial court erred in admitting the incriminating statements of a non-testifying codefendant (Victoria Jean Garcia) made to government agents. Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.

In Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968), the Court held that, despite a limiting instruction, a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confrontation is violated when a confession of a non-testifying codefendant implicates the defendant and the confession is introduced in a joint trial. Id. at 126. A proper limiting instruction and redaction of the confession to eliminate the defendant's name or any reference to his existence will solve the Confrontation Clause problem. Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200, 211 (1987). According to Mr. Gomez, while his name was redacted, his existence was not because the codefendant's statements linked him to the vehicle containing the contraband. A similar argument (inferential incrimination based upon other evidence in the case) was rejected in United States v. Chatman, 994 F.2d 1510, 1513 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 883 (1993). The redaction and limiting instruction solved any Bruton problem.

AFFIRMED. The mandate shall issue forthwith.