## Facts

- Law enforcement investigated suspected cocaine trafficking involving Lawrence Villas in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- On July 9, 1987, Martin Cardenas (also known as Raul Ramirez) was arrested with Villas and another defendant in an underground parking lot during an apparent drug transaction.
- Officers recovered cocaine from a brown paper bag containing a plastic sack of white powder; an officer transferred the bag to Officer Greg Gunter.
- The cocaine was transported to the station, tagged, sealed, and placed in an evidence room; an evidence technician later received and stored the item.
- Officer Gunter died before trial and did not testify, leaving other officers and the technician to describe the evidence handling.
- A firearm was also recovered in connection with the arrest; the prosecution linked the weapon to Cardenas and the drug transaction.
- After a joint jury trial in federal district court, Cardenas was convicted of cocaine trafficking offenses and multiple firearm offenses, including 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5), 924(b), and 924(c).

## Issues

1. Whether the cocaine was improperly admitted because the chain of custody was incomplete and the substance was materially altered.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5) and 18 U.S.C. § 924(b).
3. Whether the district court used an erroneous definition of “carrying” a firearm “during and in relation to” a drug-trafficking crime under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).

## Decision

- The Tenth Circuit affirmed Cardenas’s convictions.
- The court held the government established a sufficient foundation for admitting the cocaine; any chain-of-custody defects were for the jury to weigh.
- The court held the evidence permitted a rational jury to find the elements of §§ 922(g)(5) and 924(b) beyond a reasonable doubt, including possession proved through constructive possession.
- The court upheld the § 924(c) instruction, rejecting a narrow definition of “carrying” limited to having the firearm in hand or on the person.

## Legal Principles

- Physical evidence that is susceptible to alteration requires a chain of custody showing sufficient completeness to make it improbable the item was exchanged, contaminated, or tampered with.
- In the Tenth Circuit, the chain of custody need not be perfect; deficiencies ordinarily affect the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility.
- Sufficiency of the evidence is reviewed in the light most favorable to the government, asking whether any rational trier of fact could find the essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
- “Possession” for firearm offenses may be established by constructive possession, including dominion and control or ready access to the firearm in the relevant circumstances.
- “Carrying” under § 924(c) may include having a firearm available to facilitate the drug-trafficking crime, including when the weapon is transported in a vehicle used in the offense.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed all challenged convictions, ruling that the cocaine was properly admitted despite asserted chain-of-custody gaps, that the firearm convictions were supported by sufficient evidence (including constructive possession), and that § 924(c) “carrying” was properly treated as a functional concept extending beyond literal on-person carriage when the firearm is available in connection with a drug transaction.


United States v. Cardenas, 864 F.2d 1528 (10th Cir. 1989)