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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Docket No. 32989 STATE OF IDAHO, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. ANTONIO VASQUEZ ROLON, Defendant-Appellant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) 2008 Opinion No. 91 Filed: October 23, 2008 Stephen W. Kenyon, Clerk

Appeal from the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District, State of Idaho, Ada County. Hon. Michael E. Wetherell, District Judge. Judgment of conviction for conspiracy to traffic in controlled substances, heroin and cocaine, affirmed. Nevin, Benjamin, McKay & Bartlett, LLP, Boise, for appellant. Robyn A. Fyffe argued. Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Kenneth K. Jorgensen, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued. ______________________________________________ GUTIERREZ, Chief Judge Antonio Vasquez Rolon appeals from his judgment of conviction for conspiracy to traffic in more than 28 grams of heroin and for conspiracy to traffic in more than 28 grams of cocaine. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE The state established the following facts at trial. Boise police, using a confidential informant between October 2004 and January 2005, conducted twelve controlled buys of heroin and cocaine from a drug ring operating in the area. To initiate the buys, the informant or an officer would call one of two participants, nicknamed "Cumbia" and "Buda," who would instruct the caller where to go and what type of vehicle to look for in which to complete the transaction. By tracking the vehicles used by the sellers during the controlled buys, acquiring information

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about the phone numbers used by the police to contact the sellers, and eventually stopping a car after it left the scene of a controlled buy, officers were able to identify one of the sellers as Carlos Ortiz. Following his arrest on December 8, when several balloons of both heroin and cocaine were found in his car, Ortiz agreed to provide information to authorities, including the names, phone numbers, and addresses of individuals involved in the distribution operation. Based on this information and further investigation, officers obtained several search and arrest warrants and eventually identified several other participants in the enterprise, including Rolon. On January 18, 2005, Cumbia was arrested following a traffic stop, and after he placed a call to Buda where he requested that Buda get the "tools" which were in the steering column of his impounded vehicle, police discovered several grams of heroin and cocaine hidden in the column. The next day, police simultaneously executed warrants for the search of local

residences they believed were utilized by the drug ring and for the arrest of conspiracy members. A small amount of cocaine and approximately $3,300 in cash were seized from the apartment shared by Buda and another participant, "Chaleco," and several grams of heroin and cocaine were found in a residence frequented by Cumbia. In addition, approximately 50 grams of heroin and cocaine, $15,680 in cash, and drug ledgers were discovered in a residence in Nampa. Drug ledgers were also found in a Boise residence. The same day, Rolon was arrested in Utah, where he resided. In a search of his vehicle, officers found the titles to three vehicles involved in the drug distribution in Idaho. Rolon, Cumbia, Buda, Chaleco, Ortiz, and others were charged with conspiring to traffic in more than 28 grams of heroin, Idaho Code

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