Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-89-06377/USCOURTS-ca10-89-06377-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Roderick Lewis
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

FI LED 

United States Court of Appeals 

Tenth Circuit 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS AUG 2 9 1990 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

v. 

RODERICK LEWIS, 

Defendant-Appellant. 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

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No. 89-6377 

(D.C. No. CR-89-103-A) 

(W.D. Okla.) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT! 

Before McKAY and SETH, Circuit Judges, and KANE, 2 District Judge. 

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 

34(a). 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. 

This is an appeal from a conviction for conspiracy to distribute heroin and engaging in a racketeering activity. Appellant 

1 This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall 

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

except for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of 

the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 

36.3. 

2 Honorable John L. Kane, Jr., United States District Judge for 

the District of Colorado, sitting by designation. 

Appellate Case: 89-6377 Document: 010110041636 Date Filed: 08/29/1990 Page: 1 
properly concedes the government proved that a group known as "The 

Kids Organization" was involved in the distribution of heroin. 

Appellant attempts to argue that "The Kids Organization" was an 

informal group. Although the evidence was more than abundant that 

"The Kids Organization" was engaged in an activity with the organization and structure sufficient to satisfy the definition of a 

RICO organization, appellant claims there was insufficient proof 

that he was a part of a RICO organization. He further argues that 

the evidence was insufficient to show he joined a conspiracy to 

sell heroin and that his involvement was minimal. 

Our review is limited to determining whether there was sufficient proof from which a reasonable jury could find guilt beyond 

a reasonable doubt. United States v. Hooks, 780 F.2d 1526, 1531 

(10th Cir.), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1128 (1986). Although appellant consistently claimed witnesses were impeached, we do not consider the credibility of the witnesses nor do we weigh any conflicting evidence. United States v. Hines, 696 F.2d 722, 730 

(10th Cir. 1982). 

Direct testimony established that appellant made sales to 

"The Kids Organization" on at least three occasions of heroin in a 

form and quantity designed for redistribution. Additional testimony established his involvement with more than one person in the 

organization and that he even gave advice on the methods of cutting and packaging the heroin he supplied for redistribution. 

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Appellate Case: 89-6377 Document: 010110041636 Date Filed: 08/29/1990 Page: 2 
Both the direct and circumstantial evidence easily satisfy 

the requirement for proof that there was a conspiracy to distribute heroin; that the defendants joined that conspiracy and supplied wholesale quantities of heroin on at least three occasions; 

that there was an organization which satisfies the appropriate 

definition for a RICO conviction; and that the appellant was a 

part of that RICO activity. Here, the evidence presented to the 

jury was sufficient for the trier of fact to have found that the 

essential elements of the crime existed beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979). 

AFFIRMED. 

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Entered for the Court 

Monroe G. McKay 

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 89-6377 Document: 010110041636 Date Filed: 08/29/1990 Page: 3