United States v. Rodriguez-Moreno

526 U.S. 275 (1999)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A drug transaction took place in Houston. A New York dealer stole 30 kilos of a Texas drug distributor’s cocaine. The distributor hired Rodrigquez-Moreno (D) and others to find the dealer and to hold the middleman, Ephrain Avendano as a hostage in the transaction. The distributor and his henchmen drove to New Jersey from Texas with Ephrain. They eventually moved him to a house in New York, then Maryland. When they got to Maryland, the owner of that house had a .357 magnum revolver that D took possession of. They could not find their target and D suggested they kill Ephrain. D put the gun to the back of Ephrain’s neck, but the others involved persuaded D not to shoot. Ephrain eventually escaped, and D and the others were arrested. D and the others were tried jointly in New Jersey for violations of 18 U.S.C. 924 (c)(1). At the conclusion of the case, D moved to dismiss for lack of venue in that venue was only proper in Maryland, the only place where the government could prove that D actually used the gun. The motion was denied, and D was found guilty of kidnapping and 924(c)(1). D was given 87 months for the kidnapping and a mandatory 60-month consecutive term for the 924(c)(1) violation. The Court of Appeals reversed by applying the verb test and determined that a violation of 924(c)(1) was only committed in a district where a defendant uses or carries a firearm. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.