Yes. Even if he didn't know about the missing tax stamps, he is still guilty because he knowingly helped with the drug deal itself. The court explained that the crime of not putting tax stamps on drugs is a 'strict liability' crime, which means you're guilty just for doing it (or not doing it), regardless of whether you intended to break that specific rule. Since Romero-Garcia intentionally helped with the drug deal, he's automatically responsible for the related crime of the missing stamps. All the prosecutor had to show was that he helped with the deal and that the stamps were, in fact, missing.

Yes, there was enough proof to show Romero-Garcia helped with the drug crimes. He knew what he was doing when he helped set up the drug sale and went with the secret helper to meet the drug dealer. This is all that's needed to show he helped with the crime. For the tax stamp part, we just needed to show he helped sell drugs that didn't have the stamps - he didn't need to know about the stamps himself. The judge explained things well enough to the jury, even if it could have been clearer. The prosecutor might have said some things that weren't quite right about Romero-Garcia not being a U.S. citizen, but it didn't change the outcome because there was so much other proof that he did the crimes.

No. A conviction for aiding and abetting the failure to affix illegal drug tax stamps does not require proof that the defendant knew the stamps were missing. The underlying offense of failing to affix tax stamps is a strict liability crime, meaning intent to commit that specific violation is not an element. The mental state required for aiding and abetting is the same as that for the principal offense. Therefore, the prosecution only needed to prove that Romero-Garcia knowingly participated in or assisted the drug dealer in the possession or distribution of cocaine, and that the tax stamps were in fact not affixed. His knowing participation in the drug transaction itself satisfies the mens rea requirement for accomplice liability for the related strict liability offense.

Yes, the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support the jury's verdict, and the jury instructions were proper. I affirm Romero-Garcia's convictions for aiding and abetting trafficking in cocaine and aiding and abetting the failure to affix illegal drug tax stamps. The evidence showed that Romero-Garcia knowingly participated in the drug transaction by arranging the sale and accompanying the CI to the drug dealer's residence, fulfilling the mental state requirement for aiding and abetting under Idaho law. Regarding the failure to affix tax stamps, the state only needed to prove that Romero-Garcia participated in or assisted the possession or distribution of cocaine lacking the required stamps, which was sufficiently demonstrated. The jury instructions, while not perfect, adequately required the jury to find all necessary elements of the crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. As for the prosecutorial misconduct claim, while the prosecutor's comments about Romero-Garcia's non-citizen status could be viewed as a subtle appeal to racial or ethnic prejudice, any potential error was harmless given the overwhelming evidence of guilt. The prosecutor's remarks about the defendant's right not to present evidence were not improper, as they merely reiterated the court's instructions on the state's burden of proof.

State v. Romero-Garcia

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