### F I LE D U. S . COURT OF AP PE ALS E LEVE NTH CI RCUI T Jul y 19, 2005 T HOM AS K. KAHN C L E RK [ DO NO T P UB L I S H] I N THE UN I TE D STATE S C OU RT OF APPE ALS F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C IR C U IT

________________________ N o. 04- 13785 N on -A rgum entC al endar

________________________ D. C . Do c k e tNo . 0 3 - 2 0 5 3 0 - C R - J AL U N I T E D S T A T E S O F A M E R I C A , P la in tif f - A p p e lle e , v ersu s W I L L I E S T R I N G F I E L D , I I I , D e f e n d a n t- A p p e lla n t.

________________________ A pp ea l fr om the U ni t ed S t at es D i stri ctC ou rt f orthe S outhe rn D i s tr i c tof F l or i da

_________________________ ( Ju l y 19, 2005) B efo re B IR C H , C A RN E S an d M A R C U S , C i rcu i tJu d g es. P E R C U R I A M: W i l l i e S tri ng fi el d, II I, a f eder al pri soner c on vi ct ed of fi ve drug -r el at edString fi e ld alsoargue s th at, i f t hec on sp irac y

c onvictio n w a s im

prop er, wesh ould 1 rema nd for resentencingbeca

use the mandatory

minimumsentenc e for

the conspiracy

conviction aff ecte d the complete sentencingpackag e imposed by the district judge . Ba sed on our dispositi on of Stringf

ield’s suffic iency

of the evidenceargument, however, weneed not c onsider h i s argum entth ath e i senti tl edt o re s ent en ci n g. 2 offe nses , appeal s hi s c on vi ct i on for c on spi ra cyt o p osse ss w i th i nt entt o d i stri bu t e a control l ed subst ance i n v i ol at i on of 21 U . S . C . § 8 46 . A l tho ug h a j ury c on vi ct ed S tr i ngf i e l d of the c ons pi r a c y of

f e ns e , S tr i ngf

i e l d a r gue s tha tthe ve r di c tw a s not s u p p o rte d b y s u f

f ic ie n t e v id e n c e . A f

te rar e v ie w o f

th e e v id e n c e a d d u c e d a t tr ia l, w e AF F I RM . 1 I . B AC KG RO UN D In June 20 03 , the M i am i P ol i ce D epartm ent(“ M P D ”) i ni t i at ed survei l l ance o f a n ap a rtm e n t lo c a te d a t 5 2 1 N .W . 5 6 th S tr e e t in M ia m i, F lo r id a , in r e s p o n s e to c itiz e n c o m p la in ts th a t v a r io u s in d iv id u a ls w e r e u s in g th e ap a r tm e n t to s e ll d ru g s . W h ile c o n d u c tin g th e s u rv e illa n c e , M P D o f f ic e rM ilto n M c K in n o n s a w S tr in g f ie ld o n th e p o r c h o f

th e ap a rtm e n t b u ild in g a n dw itn e s s e d m u ltip le in d iv id u a ls appr oa c h S tr i ngf

i e l d, c onve r s e w i th hi m , ha nd hi m m one y , a nd r e c e i ve s om e thi ng f r om S tr i ngf

i e l d. O the ri ndi vi dua l s w e r e a c c om pa ni e d i ns i de the apa r tm e ntby S tr i ngf i e l d a nd w oul d de pa rts hor t l y the r e a f t e r . W hi l e the s e e xc ha nge s w e r e be i ng c onduc t e d, M c K i nnon not i c e d tha ta n i ndi vi dua l l a t e ri de nt i f i e d a s K a l i l J ohns on w as ri d i n g a b i cycl e b ackan d fo rth o u t si d e o f th e ap artm en tb u i l d i n g . A tt i m es,3

J o h n s o n w o u ld s to p to s p e a kw ith S tr in g f ie ld a n d th e n c o n tin u e to r id e h is b ic y c le i n f r ontof , a nd a r ound, the apa rtm e ntbui l di ng a r e a . F i na l l y , M c K i nnon not i c e d a m a n la te rid e n tif

ie d a s L e o n a r d H a n n aap p r o a c h S tr in g f ie ld a n d h a n d h im m o n e y . H a n n aa n d S tr in g f

ie ld th e n e n te r e d th e ap a rtm e n t a n d e x ite d s e v e r a l m in u te s la te r . M c K i nnon a l e rt e d othe rM P D of f i c e r s w ho a rr e s t e d H a nnaa nd di s c ove r e d tha the had severa l bagg i es cont ai ni ng coca i ne and cocai ne base . H anna l at eradm i tt ed th a t h e b o u g h t th e d ru g s f r o m S tr in g f

ie ld a n d th a t, w h e n h e e n te r e d th e ap a r tm e n t, tw o o th e rp e r s o n s w e r e w ith in a n d th a t o n e o f th e m w a s h o ld in g ag u n . W hi l e H a nnaw a s be i ng a rr e s t e d, f ourothe ri ndi vi dua l s a rr i ve d a tthe ap a rtm e n t in av e h ic le , w e r e g r e e te d b y S tr in g f ie ld , a n d e n te r e d th e ap a r tm e n t. S e ve r a l m i nut e s l a t e r , S tr i ngf i e l d a nd the f

ouri ndi vi dua l s r a n outof the apa r tm e nt and d rove aw ay . T hey s ub se qu ent l y w er e app re hend ed by M P D offi ce rs . A se ar ch o f th e f iv e in d iv id u a ls r e v e a le d th a t n o n e o f th e m h a d d ru g s w ith th e m ; b u t, S tr in g f ie ld w a s c a rry in g o v e r$ 3 0 0 in c a s h . A f te rS tr in g f

ie ld a n d th e f

o u rin d iv id u a ls d r o v e a w a y f r o m th e ap a r tm e n t, M c K in n o n s a w J o h n s o n a n d a n o th e rin d iv id u a l e n te rth e ap a r tm e n t b u ild in g , e x it w i th c o c a i n e , a n d b e g i n t o s e l l th e c o c a i n e i n th e s tr e e t . Fo l l o w i n g th i s , M PD of f i c e r s m ove d i n t o a rr e s tJ ohns on a nd the othe ri ndi vi dua l . T he y both f l e d a nd M P D offi ce rs w er e abl e t o arr es tJohn son. S ub se qu ent l y, M P D offi ce rs se ar ched4

the apa rtm e nta nd di s c ove r e d l a r ge a m ount s of ba ggi e s c ont a i ni ng c oc a i ne , c oc a i ne b a s e , a n d m a r iju a n a . I n a d d itio n , M P D o f f ic e r s d is c o v e r e d tw o lo a d e d s e m iaut om a t i c a s s aul tr i f

l e s a nd a m m uni t i on. M P D of f i c e r s r e turne d t o the apa r tm e nt s e v e r a l d a y s l a t e r , d i s c o v e r e d Str i n g f i e l d w i th i n , a n d a rr e s t e d h i m. O n 9 O c t obe r2004, af

e de r a l gr a nd j ury r e turne d as upe r c e di ng i ndi c tm e nt th a t c h a r g e d S tr in g f

ie ld w ith : ( 1 ) c o n s p ir in g w ith p e r s o n s k n o w n a n d u n k n o w n to the gr a nd j ury t o di s tr i but e a nd pos s e s s w i th i nt e ntt o di s tr i but e c oc a i ne ba s e , or

“ c r a c k” c oc a i ne ( “ C ount1” ) ; ( 2) pos s e s s i on w i th i nt e ntt o di s tr i but e c r a c k c oc a i ne ( “ C ount2” ) ; ( 3) di s tr i but i ng c r a c k c oc a i ne ( “ C ount3” ) ; ( 4) pos s e s s i on w i th i nt e nt t o di s tr i but e c oc a i ne ( “ C ount4” ) ; ( 5) pos s e s s i on w i th i nt e ntt o di s tr i but e m a r i j ua na ( “ C ount5” ) ; ( 6) c ons pi r a c y t o pos s e s s af i r e a rm i n f

ur the r a nc e of

drug tr a f

f i c ki ng c r i m e s ( “ C ount6” ) ; a nd ( 7) pos s e s s i on of af i r e a rm i n f

ur the r a nc e of

drug tra ff i cki ng cr i m es (“ C ou nt7”). A ft erS tri ng fi el d p l ed no tgu i l ty, a j ury tri al ensued. T he go vernm entpres ent ed evi dence fr om the June 20 03 survei l l ance thr ough the t e s t i m ony of va r i ous M P D of

f i c e r s a nd H a nna . A f

t e rthe gove rnm e nt re st ed, coun se l for S tri ng fi el d m ov ed for j ud gm entof ac qu i tt al on the grou nd s that th e r e w a s in s u f

f ic ie n t e v id e n c e th a t S tr in g f ie ld c o n s p ir e d w ith a n y o n e to e n g a g e in drug di stri bu t i on . A ft erthe di stri ctcourtdeni ed the m ot i on , S tri ng fi el d’ s c ou nsel p r e s e n te d h is d e f

e n s e , w h ic h c o n s is te d o f S tr in g f ie ld te s tif y in g o n h is o w n b e h a lfWe note that Stringfie ld’s appeal is li mited to the issue of the suffic iency of evidence 2 for his convic tion on the Count 1 conspiracy charg e. Hedoes not challeng e his convictions on the other c ounts or his sentence . 5 thathe nei ther posse ss ed no r s ol d any drug s. U l t i m at el y, the j ury c on vi ct ed S tri ng fi el d o n C ou nt s 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 and acqui tt ed hi m on C ou nt s 3 and 7 . B as ed on the s e c onvi c t i ons a nd the f i ndi ngs i n S tr i ngf

i e l d’ s pr e s e nt e nc e i nve s t i ga t i on r e port , the di s tr i c tc ourti m pos e d on S tr i ngf i e l d s e nt e nc e s of

120 m onths of i m pr i s onm e nte a c h f

orC ount s 1, 2, a nd 6, 60 m onths f orC ount5, a nd 20 m onths f o rC o u n t 4 , a ll to b e s e rv e d c o n c u rr e n tly . O n ap p e a l, S tr in g f

ie ld a r g u e s th a t th e d is tr ic t c o u r t e rr e db y d e n y in g h is m o tio n s f

o rju d g m e n t o f

a c q u itta l b e c au s e th e r e w a s in s u f f ic ie n t e v id e n c e to s u p p o rt h is c o n v ic tio n o n C o u n t 1 f o rc o n s p ir in g to d is tr ib u te a n d p o s s e s s w ith i nt entt o d i stri bu t e c ra ck cocai ne. S peci fi ca l l y, S tri ng fi el d argues thatthe evi dence di d notde m ons tr a t e be y ond ar e a s onabl e doubttha ta ny one a gr e e d w i th hi m or conspi re d w i th h i m t o p osse ss and d i stri bu t e c ra ck cocai ne. 2 I I . DI S CUS S I ON

“ I n r e vi e w i ng the s uf

f i c i e nc y of

the e vi de nc e , w e vi e w i tde novo, buti n the l i gh tm ostfa vo rabl e t o the go vernm ent , and acce pt i ng al l re as on abl e i nfer ence s w hi ch supp ortthe verdi cti n o rdert o d et erm i ne i f there w as subst ant i al evi dence f r o m w h ic h ar e a s o n ab le tr ie ro f f a c t c o u ld h a v e c o n c lu d e d th a t th e d e f e n d a n ts6

w e r e gui l ty be y ond ar e a s onabl e doubt . ” U ni t e d S t a t e s v. A dki ns on, 158 F . 3d 1 1 4 7 , 1 1 5 0 ( 1 1 th C ir . 1 9 9 8 ) . A di s tr i c tc ourtm a y gr a ntam ot i on f orj udgm e ntof

a c qui tt a l f

or“ a ny o f f e n s e f o rw h ic h th e e v id e n c e is in s u f f ic ie n t to s u s ta in ac o n v ic tio n .” F ED . R. C RIM . P. 2 9 (a). In o rd er t o su st ai n a co n v i ct i o n u n d er § 8 4 6 , “ th e g o v ern m en tm u st prov e thatthere i s an agreement by tw o o r m ore pers on s t o v i ol at e the narcot i cs l aw s. ” U ni t ed S t at es v. P arra do , 91 1 F . 2d 15 67 , 15 70 (11th C i r. 19 90 ). “ M er e pr e s e nc e a tthe s c e ne i s note nough; how e ve r , di r e c te vi de nc e of ac ons pi r a c y i s not r e q u ir e d .” I d . ( c ita tio n s o m itte d ) . “B e c au s e th e e s s e n tia l n a tu r e o f c o n s p ir a c y is se cr ec y, a c on spi ra cyconv i ct i on m aybe base d u po n ci rc um st ant i al evi dence. ” A d k in s o n , 1 5 8 F .3 d a t 1 1 5 3 ; s e e U n ite d S ta te s v . F a rr is , 7 7 F .3 d 3 9 1 , 3 9 4 ( 1 1 th C i r . 1996) ( not i ng tha tadrug c ons pi r a c y m a y be pr ove d by “ i nf e r e nc e s f r om the c onduc tof

the a l l e ge d pa rt i c i pa nt s ” ) . “ [ A ] de f e nda ntm a y be c onvi c t e d of conspi ri ng w i th ‘ pers on s unk no w n, ’ i f s uffi ci entevi dence s up po rt s the exi st ence a nd i nvol ve m e ntof

s uc h unknow n pe r s ons . ” U ni t e d S t a t e s v. M a r t i ne z , 96 F . 3d 47 3, 47 7 (11 th C i r. 19 96 ) ( per c uri am ). B as ed on these st andards and the evi dence adduced attri al , w e c on cl ud e that suff i ci entevi dence s up po rt ed S tri ng fi el d’ s c on spi ra cyconv i ct i on . F i rs t , there w as e vi de nc e tha tS tr i ngf

i e l d ha d a rr a nge d f

orJ ohns on t o a c ta s al ookoutdur i ng drug7

tr a ns a c t i ons . J ohns on w a s s e e n notonl y r i di ng hi s bi c y c l e ba c k a nd f or th i n f r ont of , a nd a r ound, the apa rtm e ntbui l di ng a r e aw he r e S tr i ngf i e l d w a s s e l l i ng drugs , he w a s a l s o s e e n s pe a ki ng w i th S tr i ngf i e l d pe r i odi c a l l y . T hi s c onduc ts uppor t e d the in f e r e n c e th a t S tr in g f

ie ld h a d c o n s p ir e d w ith J o h n s o n to f a c ilita te th e s a le o f

d ru g s . S ee U ni t ed S t at es v. G re en, 40 F . 3d 11 67 , 11 73 (11th C i r. 19 94 ) ( no t i ng that

“ l ookout s r i di ng on bi c y c l e s ” a r e c om m onl y e m pl oy e d i n drug di s tr i but i on c ons pi r a c i e s t o c onduc tc ount e r s urve i l l a nc e ) . M or e ove r , the e vi de nc e tha tJ ohns on w e n t in to S tr in g f

ie ld ’s ap a rtm e n t a f

te rS tr in g f

ie ld le f t a n d e m e r g e d to s e ll d ru g s in the s tr e e ts uppor t e d the i nf e r e nc e tha tJ ohns on w a s apa r tof S tr i ngf i e l d’ s drug d istrib u ti o n sc h em e. S ec o n d , i n ad d it io n to th e e v id en ce ab o u t Jo h n so n ’s re l at i on shi p w i th S tri ng fi el d, H anna’ s t es t i m on y thattw o o ther i nd i vi du al s w er e i nsi de S tri ng fi el d’ s apartm entand ass i st ed i n the sa l e of drugs t o h i m i s e vi dence tha tS tr i ngf

i e l d ha d c oc ons pi r a t or s . P a r t i c ul a r l y , H a nna ’ s t e s t i m ony tha tone of these i nd i vi du al s had a f i re arm supp ort s the fi nd i ng thatthese i nd i vi du al s w er e i nvol ve d i n S tr i ngf

i e l d’ s drug c ons pi r a c y . S e e U ni t e d S t a t e s v. B a gge tt , 954 F . 2d 674, 677 ( 11th C i r . 1992) ( not i ng tha tf i r e a rm s a r e “ ac om m on t ool of the drug tr a d e ” ) . T h a t th e s e in d iv id u a ls w e r e n o t n a m e d in th e in d ic tm e n t is o f n o m o m e n t; “[ t]h e c r itic a l e le m e n t o f e v id e n c e is th a t s u c h u n k n o w n p e r s o n s m u s t e x is t,” U n it ed S tates v . C ar ca ise, 7 6 3 F .2 d 1 3 2 8 , 1 3 3 1 (1 1 th C ir. 1 9 8 5 ). H er e, H an n a’s8

te s tim o n y w a s th a t th e y e x is te d a n d , o s te n s ib ly , th e ju ry b e lie v e d h is te s tim o n y . S ee U ni t ed S t at es v. G l i nt on , 15 4 F . 3d 12 45 , 12 58 (11th C i r. 19 98 ) ( no t i ng that w hen revi ew i ng for s uffi ci encyof evi dence an appel l at e c ou rt“ m ustac ce ptal l of a j ury ’ s i nf

e r e nc e s a nd de t e rm i na t i ons of w i tne s s c r e di bi l i ty ” ) . I n s um , vi e w i ng the e vi de nc e i n the l i ghtm os tf a vor abl e t o the gove rnm e nt , the r e w a s s uf f i c i e nt e v id e n c e f

o rar e a s o n ab le ju ry to f in d S tr in g f

ie ld g u ilty o f

c o n s p ir a c y to d is tr ib u te a n d p o s s e s s w ith in te n t to d is tr ib u te c r a c kc o c a in e b e y o n d ar e a s o n ab le d o u b t. A lth o u g h S tr in g f

ie ld p o s its a lte rn a tiv e c o n c lu s io n s th e ju ry c o u ld h a v e r e a c h e d in a na l y z i ng thi s e vi de nc e , thi s l i ne of a r gum e nt a t i on i s i ns uf

f i c i e ntt o w a rr a ntthe r e v e r s a l o f

h is c o n v ic tio n . S e e U n ite d S ta te s v . L y o n s , 5 3 F .3 d 1 1 9 8 , 1 2 0 2 ( 1 1 th C ir . 1 9 9 5 ) ( “E v id e n c e n e e d n o t b e in c o n s is te n t w ith e v e ry r e a s o n ab le h yp o th e s is e x c e p t th a t o f

g u ilt in o r d e rto b e s u f

f ic ie n t.” ) . A c c o r d in g ly , th e d is tr ic t c o u r t d id n o t e rrin d e n y in g S tr in g f ie ld ’s m o tio n s f

o rju d g m e n t o f

a c q u itta l b e c au s e h is c o n s p ir a c y c o n v ic tio n w a s s u p p o r te d b y s u f f ic ie n t e v id e n c e . I I I . CONCL US I ON A f t e rvi e w i ng a l l the e vi de nc e a dduc e d a ttr i a l , S tr i ngf i e l d w a s c onvi c t e d by aju ry o f , in te ra lia , c o n s p ir a c y to d is tr ib u te a n d p o s s e s s w ith in te n t to d is tr ib u te cr ac k cocai ne. A s w e have expl ai ned, the ci rc um st ant i al evi dence attri al w as s u f f ic ie n t to s u p p o rt th e ju ry ’s f in d in g th a t S tr in g f

ie ld c o n s p ir e d w ith o th e r s to9

e x e c u te ad ru g d is tr ib u tio n s c h e m e . A c c o r d in g ly , th e d is tr ic t c o u r t’s d e n ia l o f h is m o t i o n fo r j u d g em en to f acq u i tt al i s A FFI R M ED .