Pubdate: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY) Copyright: 2003 Casper Star-Tribune Contact: http://www.trib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/765 Author: Joan Barron Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/states/wy/ (Wyoming) MAN LOSES APPEAL OF POT CONVICTION CHEYENNE -- A man who claimed he was just along for the ride in a car that contained 77 pounds of marijuana lost his appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court. The state's high court concluded that a Laramie County District court jury heard nearly overwhelming evidence to convict Jorge T. Sotolongo- Garcia of possession with intent to deliver marijuana and conspiracy to deliver. In a separate opinion issued Tuesday, the Supreme Court also upheld the forgery conviction of Betty Jean Williams in Sheridan County District Court. In the marijuana case, Garcia and Steven Nevling, a car mechanic in San Diego, Calif., who repaired cars for drugs or money, were stopped by the Wyoming Highway Patrol 15 miles west of Cheyenne while enroute to Iowa according to the Supreme Court opinion, written by Justice Larry Lehman. The two men were stopped because Nevling was driving erratically and the 1994 Mitsubishi lacked working taillights. They both claimed not to know the other, Lehman wrote. The interior of the car exuded an overwhelming odor of diesel fuel,"a ruse sometimes used to mask the scent of drugs from dogs," Lehman wrote. A canine unit was called to the scene, anyway. The dog "alerted" and officers found about 20 bricks of marijuana in the trunk. Nevling made a plea bargain with the state and testified against Garcia at his jury trial. Nevling said he was working on the Mitsubishi Gallant for a man called Alan who asked him to drive the car to Iowa in return for $1,500 and a quarter ounce of methamphetamine. After the car trunk was loaded with marijuana, Alan introduced Nevling to Garcia and was told he would join Nevling on the trip. Alan gave Garcia $300 for expenses and a cell phone. Nevling said that during the trip the cell phone rang several times and Garcia would speak in Spanish to the caller. On a couple of occasions Garcia used the word "mota," which is Spanish slang for marijuana, the opinion said. In closing arguments, Garcia's defense attorney said the case boiled down to whether the jury believed Nevling's testimony. The jury apparently did believe Nevling when it found Garcia guilty, the Supreme Court opinion said. A Sheridan County District Court jury convicted Betty Jean Williams on five counts of forging checks of a cab driver while doing some painting at his home in March 2000. On appeal, Williams challenged the testimony of the state's handwriting expert, Richard Crivello, who worked for the Wyoming State Crime Laboratory as a forensic document examiner for 16 and one-half years. The Supreme Court found that Williams' attorney was given ample opportunity to cross-examine Crivello to test his opinions. Moreover, there was other evidence against Williams, including testimony from bank employees about her odd behavior when cashing and depositing the checks. The cab driver testified he had not given Williams the checks in question and never intended to pay her more than $950 to help him paint his house, said the court opinion by Justice Larry Lehman. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake