Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-09-02165/USCOURTS-ca8-09-02165-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Antonio Rigberto Frausto
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

1

The government prepared a grand jury indictment with Frausto's middle name

misspelled "Rigberto." This misspelling carried throughout the record. Police booked

and processed Frausto under the name Antonio Rigoberto Frausto. Frausto testified

at trial that his full name is "Antonio Rigoberto Frausto Diaz," and therefore we use

the spelling "Rigoberto." 

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 09-2165

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* District of Nebraska.

Antonio Rigberto Frausto, *

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: March 11, 2010

Filed: August 6, 2010

___________

Before SMITH, BENTON, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

___________

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

A jury convicted Antonio Rigoberto Frausto1

 of conspiracy to distribute 500

grams or more of methamphetamine mixture, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846,

841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1). Frausto argues on appeal that the government failed to

adduce sufficient evidence to convict him beyond a reasonable doubt. We hold that

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The Honorable Joseph F. Bataillon, United States District Judge for the District

of Nebraska.

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there was sufficient evidence to sustain the conviction and affirm the decision of the

district court.2

I. Background

Following an arrest, an individual identified Frausto to police as a

methamphetamine seller. On October 20, 2006, Omaha, Nebraska Police Officer Tony

Friend arrested Christiana Dilley and Stephen Smith at the Econo Lodge motel while

attempting to apprehend Calvin Davis on Davis's outstanding warrant. Officer Robert

Branch also came to the arrest location and interviewed Dilley and Smith. After

searching Dilley and Smith incident to arrest, the officers recovered an ounce-and-ahalf of methamphetamine and a handgun.

Dilley initially told Officer Branch that Davis, her cousin, supplied her drugs

to sell. Dilley said that she could call Davis, who was not present when the officers

first arrived, to come to the motel so that the police could arrest him. Dilley told

Officer Branch that the methamphetamine in the room belonged to Davis and that she

was holding it for him. Dilley placed the call, Davis arrived, and the police arrested

him. Dilley then changed her story and stated that she was actually Davis's supplier

and that Davis and Smith sold methamphetamine for her. Dilley further stated that a

person she knew as "Tonio Diaz" was her supplier. The person Dilley knew as "Tonio

Diaz" is actually Frausto. Dilley agreed to show Officer Branch where Frausto dealt

methamphetamine and stashed his money.

Dilley led police to two locations where Frausto sold methamphetamine: a

trailer at 19 New Boulevard in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and a house at 3010 U Street in

Omaha, Nebraska. Dilley claimed that Frausto and his associates stashed their money

in the Omaha house and dealt the methamphetamine from the Council Bluffs trailer.

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Dilley attempted to call Frausto but was unable to set up a transaction. The police then

released Dilley for the night hoping that she would try again the next day to set up a

controlled buy with Frausto.

However, the next day, Dilley did not respond to several phone calls from

officers. Officer Branch then contacted the Council Bluffs Police Department,

explained the situation, and advised them to attempt to obtain a search warrant for 19

New Boulevard in Council Bluffs. Officer Branch obtained and executed a search

warrant for 3010 U Street in Omaha. Officer Branch testified that the house at 3010

U Street "looked like the residence had been cleared out." Police did not find money

or firearms. Police did find 3.4 grams of methamphetamine located in a boot in a

closet in one of the rooms. The officers also located approximately 84 grams of a

crystalline substance, believed to be the cutting agent methylsulfonylmethane (MSM).

Also located in the kitchen of the residence was a letter addressed to "Rigoberto

Frausto" from "Pedro Frausto Diaz," who was in a penitentiary in Arizona.

Detective Gerald Wake knew Dilley from his work on the Southwest Iowa

Narcotics Task Force. Based upon information provided to him from Officer Branch

and the Omaha Police Department, Detective Wake obtained a search warrant for the

trailer at 19 New Boulevard. During the search, the officers encountered five

individuals in the trailer, including Frausto.

From the trailer, police seized approximately 517 grams of methamphetamine.

The officers also recovered cash, a handgun, .44 magnum rounds, a nylon-zippered

case, two full 10-pound containers of MSM and one empty one, several zip-lock bags,

two digital scales, aluminum foil balls consistent with methamphetamine use, and six

cell phones. 

Officers also found an envelope addressed to "Rigoberto Frausto" sent by

"Pedro Frausto Diaz." Detective Wake testified that he found an identification card

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with Frausto's picture on it. Detective Wake was not sure of the exact spelling, but the

name on the identification was "Rigoberto Frausto" and the picture on the card

matched Frausto, who the police discovered in the trailer. 

Police arrested all five individuals in the trailer for possession of

methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Detective Wake testified that money found

at the trailer was consistent with prices for the purchase of specific quantities of

methamphetamine, including $1200 found on Frausto. Detective Wake said that as an

undercover officer he purchased one ounce of methamphetamine for $1200. 

Detective Wake observed that no methamphetamine was being cooked at the

time that he entered the trailer. He also noted that other than the tin foil, all the

evidence consistent with a drug operation was found in one bedroom, and most of that

was in the closet. Detective Wake discovered no photographs, DNA, or fingerprint

testing evidence from the trailer specifically linking Frausto to the items seized.

A. Christiana Dilley's Testimony

Dilley pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent

to deliver as part of a cooperating plea agreement. Dilley admitted lying in the past to

stay out of jail, including the night of her arrest. Dilley explained that she was

originally charged in federal court with three charges: conspiracy to distribute over

500 grams of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute

methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking

crime. Dilley testified that she was not promised a sentence reduction from the

government and further testified that she was not hoping to receive a reduction; rather,

she wanted to close the door on her drug activities.

Dilley stated that she met her boyfriend Sabino Diaz in 2004 through her sister.

At that time, she was getting methamphetamine from Sabino's brother, Jeda. Dilley

testified that she formed a drug trafficking relationship with Sabino in September

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2005 after Sabino spent some time in jail. According to Dilley, she watched Sabino

make methamphetamine at an apartment in Omaha. Dilley said that she also helped

cut the methamphetamine with MSM. Dilley testified that Sabino was getting

methamphetamine from "nephews of his" that were bringing it up from Phoenix and

Mexico.

Dilley testified that their drug operation used the trailer at 19 New Boulevard

as the primary base of operations. The group used the trailer as a place to make the

drugs and store the drugs. She also testified that there were scales and guns in the

trailer. Dilley further testified that there were drugs at the trailer every time she went

to 19 New Boulevard.

Dilley stated that during the course of this drug operation she met a person

identified to her as Antonio Diaz, whom she identified at trial as Antonio Frausto.

Dilley stated that she saw Frausto "all the time then at the house in Omaha and at the

trailer." Dilley believed that Frausto lived at the 3010 U Street house. Dilley stated

that drug money was counted at 3010 U Street, although she was not sure whether any

actual drug activity took place at that house.

According to Dilley, following Sabino's arrest by immigration officials in

September 2006, she began receiving drugs from Frausto. She stated that on the day

of Sabino's arrest Frausto and others came to her house with a large quantity of

methamphetamine. Frausto told her that the drugs were hers—as Sabino had already

paid for them—and left the drugs with Dilley. Dilley testified that she returned the

drugs to the trailer at 19 New Boulevard. Frausto told her that she could store the

methamphetamine at the trailer and come get it as needed. After exhausting this

supply, Dilley continued to get more methamphetamine from Frausto. Dilley testified

that she communicated with Frausto through cell phones.

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B. Stephen Smith's Testimony

According to Dilley, during the course of her drug operation she had two main

accomplices—Smith and Davis—who each received a quarter pound or more of

methamphetamine a day from her. Smith acknowledged that at the time of his

testimony he was serving a federal sentence for methamphetamine charges and hoped

to receive a sentence reduction in exchange for testifying. Smith further testified that

he had four recent felony convictions and a conviction for making a false report.

Smith agreed that for the past eight years, other than when he was in prison, he was

a methamphetamine user.

Smith testified that he was introduced to a person named "Sabino" through

Dilley. According to Smith, he first obtained two ounces of drugs and then later a

quarter pound of methamphetamine on three separate occasions from Sabino. Smith

testified that after Sabino was arrested in 2006, Smith began receiving drugs from

Dilley, who received them from Sabino's nephews, including Frausto. Smith stated

that he saw Dilley and her associates at the 3010 U Street house and described it as

"the nephews' house." According to Smith, the drugs came from the trailer at 19 New

Boulevard in Council Bluffs. 

Smith stole property to trade for drugs and brought the stolen property to 3010

U Street. According to Smith, he received an ounce of methamphetamine for a Honda

dirt bike, and Dilley received two ounces for a Raptor four-wheeler. During this time

period Smith obtained a pound-and-a-half to two pounds of methamphetamine a week

from Dilley. Smith merely accompanied Dilley to obtain her drugs at the trailer at 19

New Boulevard. Smith would remain outside the trailer while Dilley would enter for

15 to 30 minutes and exit with methamphetamine.

Smith recognized Frausto and believed that he had first seen Frausto at the 3010

U Street house. Smith never witnessed Dilley pay Frausto any money. Smith testified

that Frausto was present at every drug deal. Smith did not speak Spanish and Frausto

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did not speak English, so Smith never conducted any narcotics transactions with

Frausto.

Based on this evidence, a jury convicted Frausto of conspiracy to distribute 500

grams or more of methamphetamine mixture. At sentencing the district court

determined Frausto's total offense level to be 38 and assigned a criminal history

category II, establishing a Guideline range of 262 to 327 months' imprisonment. The

district court sentenced him to 240 months' imprisonment.

II. Discussion

Frausto's sole argument on appeal is that the government failed to adduce

sufficient evidence to convict him beyond a reasonable doubt. Frausto argues that the

law enforcement officers' investigation, their raid, seized evidence, and subsequent

testimony from witnesses proved only that Frausto was watching a soccer game in a

trailer and associating with others who may be involved in narcotics. The government

responds that the testimony from two police officers and two cooperating witnesses,

together with recovered narcotics, sufficiently establish Frausto's involvement in a

drug trafficking operation to sustain his conviction.

We review de novo the sufficiency of the evidence and view that

evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, giving it the benefit

of all reasonable inferences. We reverse only if no reasonable jury could

find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We do not weigh

the evidence or the credibility of the witnesses. Rather the jury has sole

responsibility for resolving conflicts or contradictions in testimony, and

we must resolve credibility issues in favor of the verdict.

United States v. Honarvar, 477 F.3d 999, 1000 (8th Cir. 2007) (internal quotations,

alteration, and citations omitted).

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We will reverse only if we "conclude that a reasonable fact-finder must have

entertained a reasonable doubt about the government's proof of one of the offense's

essential elements." United States v. Cabrera, 116 F.3d 1243, 1245 (8th Cir. 1997)

(internal quotations and citation omitted). "The standard for reviewing a claim of

insufficient evidence is strict, and a jury's guilty verdict should not be overturned

lightly." United States v. Pizano, 421 F.3d 707, 719 (8th Cir. 2005). 

Frausto argues that his conviction cannot stand, despite the testimony from the

officers, Dilley, and Smith. He asserts that law enforcement officers verified nothing

that Dilley or Smith said, other than that a person who Dilley claimed that she knew

as "Tonio Diaz" was associated with the trailer that she claims was the main location

of a drug operation. Frausto contends that, with minimal effort, law enforcement could

have corroborated Dilley's version of the facts by checking cell phone records. Frausto

argues that without this corroboration, the district court should not have accepted

Dilley's testimony because she is not credible due to her motivation to lie on the

witness stand.

We disagree and conclude that sufficient evidence supports Frausto's

conviction. The prosecution does not have to adduce all potentially inculpatory

evidence it may have obtained during its investigation or from a hypothetical more

thorough one. The only issue is whether the evidence admitted sufficed to establish

guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. See Honarvar, 477 F.3d at 1000. Law enforcement

officers found Frausto in the trailer where Dilley advised officers that he would be

found. Frausto was found in a structure with more than 500 grams of

methamphetamine, a cutting agent, and a gun. These facts were entirely consistent

with Dilley's story regarding Frausto's alleged drug trafficking. Frausto does not

meaningfully dispute these facts other than to attack Dilley's credibility. Despite

Dilley's legitimate credibility shortcomings, the jury choose to credit Dilley's version

of the facts. "The finder of fact may accept the parts of a witness's testimony that it

finds credible while rejecting any portion it finds implausible or unreliable." United

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States v. Boyce, 564 F.3d 911, 916 (8th Cir. 2009). Such credibility findings are

"virtually unreviewable on appeal." Id. (internal quotations and citation omitted).

Frausto has not persuaded us that his challenges to Dilley's credibility render her

testimony so incredible that no reasonable jury could have accepted it. 

Frausto makes similar unavailing credibility arguments regarding Smith. Both

Smith and Dilley testified that Frausto was involved in a methamphetamine trafficking

operation, the money was located at 3010 U Street in Omaha, and the drugs were

located at 19 New Boulevard in Council Bluffs. The evidence that Officer Branch and

Detective Wake obtained corroborated both cooperating witnesses, and the jury

believed the witnesses' testimony that Frausto sold Dilley substantial quantities of

methamphetamine.

III. Conclusion

The sum of this evidence, if believed, is sufficient to support the conviction.

Consequently, we affirm.

______________________________

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