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| Court Upholds Sentence for Drug Dealer |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/06/2006 |
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A North Dakota federal appeals court has rejected claims by a convicted drug dealer who said he was denied a speedy trial and challenged other evidence against him. Michael Gamboa is serving two life sentences for running a drug ring out of a Fargo auto detailing shop. A jury convicted Gamboa on seven drug and weapons charges after a January 2003 trial. Gamboa asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out the convictions because he was not indicted within 30 days of his arrest in late May 2002. He was indicted by a grand jury two months later. In ruling against Gamboa, the three-judge appeals panel said a judge's order that gave the government more time to file an indictment did not violate Gamboa's rights to a speedy trial. "Because the arrest occurred only a very few days prior to the expiration of a grand jury session, the district court did not err by finding that it would have been unreasonable to expect the government to gather witnesses and present its case so quickly," the panel wrote. The appeals court also ruled against Gamboa on other motions, including complaints that the trial should have been moved from Fargo and that the search warrant was improper. "We think it's a well-reasoned opinion," Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Reisenauer said. Gamboa's attorney, James Hovey of Grand Forks, was not immediately available for comment. Gamboa was convicted of running a drug operation out of the south Fargo auto detailing shop from early 1999 until police raided it on May 29, 2002. Prosecutors said the operation distributed more than 300 pounds of methamphetamine, with a street value as high as $18 million. Although Gamboa was convicted on seven counts, the appeals panel said two of the counts should have been merged into one conviction. That ruling won't affect the sentencing, Reisenauer said. |
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