Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-09-02898/USCOURTS-ca8-09-02898-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Torone Russell
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Laurie Smith Camp, United States District Judge for the

District of Nebraska. 

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 09-2898

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* District of Nebraska.

Torone Russell, also known as Rome, *

* [UNPUBLISHED]

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: March 25, 2010

Filed: March 30, 2010

___________

Before WOLLMAN, COLLOTON, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Torone Russell appeals the judgment of the district court1

 entered upon a jury

verdict finding him guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to

distribute 5 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount

of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1) and 846, and 18 U.S.C.

§ 2 (Count I), and possessing with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of cocaine base

on August 21, 2008, and an unspecified amount of cocaine base on August 27, 2008,

in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Counts II and IV).

Appellate Case: 09-2898 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/30/2010 Entry ID: 3649615
-2-

The district court sentenced Russell to concurrent terms of 70 months in prison on all

three counts, and 4 years of supervised release on Counts I and II, with a concurrent

3-year term of supervised release on Count IV. On appeal, defense counsel has filed

a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), challenging the sufficiency

of the evidence to support the verdict. 

Following de novo review, considering the facts and resolving evidentiary

conflicts in the light most favorable to the verdict, see United States v. Lewis, 593

F.3d 765, 769-70 (8th Cir. 2010), we conclude that the evidence was sufficient. The

trial included the testimony of cooperating witness Kenneth Jones that he twice sold

distribution quantities of cocaine base to Joseph Jordan and Russell. In addition,

cooperating witness Talanda Penn--who testified that she twice obtained cocaine base

for Jordan, her fiancé--identified Russell’s voice on audio recordings of telephone

conversations on August 21 and 27, 2008, involving transactions related to

distribution quantities of cocaine base. This evidence, along with police surveillance

and wiretap evidence related to a broader cocaine base distribution ring, was sufficient

for a reasonable jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Russell was guilty of the

offenses charged in the indictment. See United States v. Parker, 587 F.3d 871, 880-81

(8th Cir. 2009) (elements of conspiracy and possession-with-intent-to-distribute

offenses); United States v. Coleman, 584 F.3d 1121, 1125 (8th Cir. 2009) (reviewing

court does not weigh evidence or assess witness credibility), cert. denied, 2010 WL

373675 (U.S. Mar. 8, 2010) (No. 09-8899). 

Having reviewed the record independently under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75,

80 (1988), we have found no nonfrivolous issues. Accordingly, the judgment is

affirmed. We also grant counsel’s motion to withdraw.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 09-2898 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/30/2010 Entry ID: 3649615