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Parties Involved:
Delonia Lowe
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

) 

) 

) 

) 

FIL.CJ V 

U · .. _ ,1 States Court of Apr~b ml»J. c· ... Tent~ 1rcu1 , 

FEB 2 5 1992 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

v. ) No. 91-6139 

DELONIA LOWE, 

Defendant-Appellant. 

) D.C. No. CR-90-225-R 

) (W.D. Okla.) 

) 

) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

Before SEYMOUR, ANDERSON, and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges. 

Defendant-Appellant, Delonia Lowe, and Derwin Prescott were 

indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western District of 

Oklahoma, charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine and 

related crimes. Of the ten counts in the indictment, Defendant 

was charged in eight counts. Defendant was convicted by a jury of 

all eight counts: one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine base 

with intent to distribute; three counts of distribution of 

cocaine; two counts of making a house available for unlawful 

activity; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered gun; 

one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm; and three 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall 

not be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, 

e xcept for purposes of establishing the doctri nes of the law of 

the case, r e s judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 

36.3. 

Appellate Case: 91-6139 Document: 010110226155 Date Filed: 02/25/1992 Page: 1 
counts of aiding and abetting particular offenses charged. 

Defendant appeals her conviction, arguing that the evidence was 

insufficient to establish that she had conspired to distribute 

cocaine, and that the district court erred in overruling her 

Motion for Judgment of Acquittal on the weapons charges. Because 

our examination of the record in this case reveals sufficient 

evidence to sustain Defendant's conspiracy conviction and further 

confirms that Defendant was also properly convicted of the weapons 

charges, we affirm. 1 

"The core of a conspiracy is an agreement to commit an 

unlawful act." United States v. Esparsen, 930 F.2d 1461, 1471 

(10th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 60 U.S.L.W. 3478 (U.S. Jan. 13, 

1992) (Nos. 91-5163, 91-5206). In order to establish the elements 

of a conspiracy, the government must prove that "two or more 

persons agreed to violate the law, that the defendant knew at 

least the essential objectives of the conspiracy, and that [she] 

knowingly and voluntarily became part of the conspiracy." United 

States v. Williams, 923 F.2d 1397, 1402 (10th Cir. 1990), cert. 

denied, 111 S. Ct. 2033 (1991). The evidence supporting the 

conviction can be direct or wholly circumstantial, but it must be 

substantial . Id. Knowledge of all details of an operation is not 

essential to a conspiracy conviction. Esparsen, 930 F.2d at 1471-

72. Even a slight connection to the conspiracy is e nough to 

1 After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argume nt would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fe d. R. App. P. 

34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9 . The cas e is therefore ordered 

submitted without oral argument. 

2 

Appellate Case: 91-6139 Document: 010110226155 Date Filed: 02/25/1992 Page: 2 
sustain a conviction if that connection is proven "with evidence 

to establish knowing participation beyond a reasonable doubt." 

United States v. Horn, 946 F . 2d 738, 741 (10th Cir. 1991). 

When faced with the task of reviewing the sufficiency of the 

evidence supporting a conviction, we examine the entire record in 

the light most favorable to the government to determine whether 

the evidence, both direct and circumstantial, together with 

reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, is such that any 

reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a 

reasonable doubt. Williams, 780 F.2d at 1402 . The evidence here 

is not in dispute. 

Defendant's knowledge of the objectives of the conspiracy and 

her voluntary participation in it are supported by the record. 

Defendant was present when the undercover agent made his first buy 

and when he asked if he could return later to make another 

purchase. Rec. Supp. Vol. I at 13, 16. She called the informant 

at his place of business to inform him that Prescott, who was out 

of town, "would be back with some." Id. at 61-63. She was 

present at the negotiations for the second purchase at which time 

she gave the informant her pager number. Id. at 64-66. She 

returned the informant's call to her pager, id. at 66, and large 

quantities of rock cocaine were hidden in her home, id. at 128. 

This involvement goes beyond mere association with conspirators, 

which cannot be a basis for conviction of conspiracy. See Horn, 

946 F.2d at 741. The fact that Defendant knowingly allowed her 

3 

Appellate Case: 91-6139 Document: 010110226155 Date Filed: 02/25/1992 Page: 3 
residence to be used for storage of the drug and as a place of 

sale facilitated the endeavor of Prescott and the venture as a 

whole. This evidence is sufficient proof of the interdependence 

necessary to support a conspiracy conviction. Id. 

The requirement of an agreement among two or more persons to 

commit an unlawful act can be rationally inferred from the 

evidence in this case. Defendant was present3 with Prescott on 

more than one occasion while transactions and negotiations 

involving the sale of cocaine were taking place. See Esparsen, 

930 F.2d at 1472 . By giving the informant her pager number, 

Defendant helped facilitate communication between Prescott and the 

buyer. This, along with the presence of cocaine hidden in 

Defendant's premises, is sufficient evidence of an agreement to 

distribute cocaine to support the verdict. 

The evidence discussed above is also sufficient to support 

Defendant's conviction for aiding and abetting the crimes charged. 

A reasonable jury could find beyond a reasonable doubt that 

Defendant willfully associated herself with the criminal venture 

and sought its success through her actions. Esparsen, 930 F.2d at 

1470. 

As her second issue on appeal, Defendant argues that the 

district court erred in denying her Motion for Judgment of 

3 "Mere presence at the scene of the crime does not, by itself, 

prove involvement but is a material factor . " Esparsen, 930 F.2d 

at 1472. 

4 

Appellate Case: 91-6139 Document: 010110226155 Date Filed: 02/25/1992 Page: 4 
Acquittal on the weapons charges. "In reviewing such a ruling the 

evidence is deemed sufficient if it is such that when considered 

in the light most favorable to the government, 'any rational trier 

of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime 

beyond a reasonable doubt.'" Williams, 923 F.2d at 1402 (quoting 

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1970)). 

Defendant argues that her conviction on charges of possession 

of an unregistered firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon 

must be reversed because there was no evidence that she exercised 

dominion or control over the closet in which the weapon was found. 

We disagree. "[K]nowing possession may be actual or 

constructive." United States v. Wright, 932 F.2d 868, 881 (10th 

Cir.), cert. denied, 112 S. Ct. 428 (1991). "[A] person knowingly 

in constructive possession of an item has the power to exercise 

dominion and control over it." Id. Such possession may be 

established by circumstantial evidence. United State s v. McCoy, 

781 F.2d 168, 171 (10th Cir. 1985). 

At the time of the search, Defendant identified the premises 

as her residence. Rec. Supp. Vol . I at 128. There was undisputed 

testimony that the closet in which the firearm was found also 

contained property belonging to Defendant. Id. at 150. Dominion 

and control over one's own residence, in which weapons are found, 

is enough to infer constructive possession. McCoy, 781 F.2d at 

171. 

5 

Appellate Case: 91-6139 Document: 010110226155 Date Filed: 02/25/1992 Page: 5 
The judgment of the District Court for the Western District 

of Oklahoma is AFFIRMED. 

Entered for the Court 

Stephanie K. Seymour, 

Circuit Judge 

6 

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