United States v. Martinez-Guevara, 2:25-cr-01436

Defendant Jose Guillermo Martinez-Guevara was charged with three misdemeanors: Entry Without Inspection (8 U.S.C. § 1325), Violation of a Security Regulation (50 U.S.C. § 797), and Entering Military Property for an Unlawful Purpose (18 U.S.C. § 1382).
The charges stemmed from allegations that the defendant illegally entered the United States through the New Mexico National Defense Area (NMNDA), a military-controlled zone with posted security regulations.
After the initial appearance, the Federal Public Defender moved orally to dismiss the two military-related charges; the court also had an independent duty to review probable cause.
The court conducted a probable cause review as required by law, considering both parties' briefs on the necessary mens rea for the statutes charged.
The central factual dispute concerned whether the defendant knew he was entering military-regulated property (NMNDA) and whether he did so for an unlawful purpose.
The court ultimately found the complaint lacked sufficient facts to establish probable cause on these essential knowledge elements for the 50 U.S.C. § 797 and 18 U.S.C. § 1382 charges.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Required mental state under 50 U.S.C. § 797	Knowledge of unlawfulness is enough; knowledge of specific regulation not required	Willfulness requires knowledge of the specific regulation and defiance for nefarious purpose	Knowledge of unlawful conduct suffices, but must also know entering NMNDA
Application of knowledge requirement to elements	General intent to violate law suffices	Each element requires proof of knowledge; must know property entered is regulated	Must know facts of entry (i.e., that one is entering NMNDA) as well as that conduct is unlawful
Probable cause for charges under both statutes	Entry into U.S. unlawfully also establishes probable cause for military trespass charges	Complaint lacks facts showing defendant knew he was on NMNDA; signage evidence insufficient	Complaint lacks probable cause as to knowledge of entry into NMNDA
Interpretation of 18 U.S.C. § 1382 mens rea	Specific intent to enter for unlawful purpose enough; no need for knowledge of entry	Must knowingly go upon military property for unlawful purpose; unknowing entry not criminal	Intent and knowledge of entering military property required for probable cause

Bryan v. United States, 524 U.S. 184 (meaning of "willfulness" in criminal statutes)
Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318 (magistrate judge's duty to review probable cause for warrantless arrests)
Rehaif v. United States, 588 U.S. 225 (presumption of scienter for each element of a criminal offense)