United States v. Medrano, No. 22-3219 (7th Cir. 2023)
Annotate this Case
A supplier shipped substances containing detectable amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA from California to Indiana, where Medrano and others used the U.S. Post Office and a post office employee to distribute the drugs in Indiana. Officers tracked Medrano to an Indiana motel and attempted to arrest him. Medrano fled and led officers on a high-speed chase. Medrano evaded arrest, but officers found his truck and took a co-conspirator into custody. They obtained a warrant to search Medrano’s motel room and found his burner phone; drug paraphernalia including scales, baggies, and substances used to dilute methamphetamine; and the key to a post office box, which Medrano had received from a post office employee. Officers tracked Medrano to another motel. Medrano again led officers on a high-speed chase and avoided arrest. Officers executed a search warrant for Medrano’s motel room and found drug paraphernalia, and another phone belonging to Medrano. Officers finally arrested Medrano at an Indiana residence, where they discovered methamphetamine, paraphernalia, and a third phone, containing text messages between Medrano and “Rob Marshalltown.” The texts were later introduced at trial.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed Medrano’s conviction under 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 846. Any error in admitting the text messages was harmless, given the totality of the evidence.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.