2009 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

12-17-2009

USA v. Elvis Rivera

Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential

Docket No. 09-2354

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Recommended Citation

"USA v. Elvis Rivera" (2009). 2009 Decisions. Paper 83.

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NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

___________

No. 09-2354

___________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

ELVIS RIVERA,

Appellant.

___________

On Appeal from the District Court of the Virgin Islands

(D.C. Criminal No. 1-07-cr-00029-001)

District Judge: The Honorable Raymond L. Finch

___________

Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)

December 4, 2009

BEFORE: McKEE, FUENTES, and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges.

(Filed: December 17, 2009)

___________

OPINION OF THE COURT

___________

NYGAARD, Circuit Judge.
2

The Government filed a one-count criminal information against Appellant, Elvis

Rivera, charging him with possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of

crack cocaine, a violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(iii). After his initial

trial ended in mistrial, Rivera was tried a second time and found guilty. The District

Court sentenced him to ten years’ imprisonment. Rivera appeals, challenging the

sufficiency of the evidence. We apply a deferential standard of review when deciding

whether a jury’s verdict rests on sufficient evidence. We will affirm here because, after

reviewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the Government, we conclude that any

rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime charged beyond

a reasonable doubt. See United States v. Diallo, 575 F.3d 252, 256 (3d Cir. 2009). 

Rivera was arrested after selling crack cocaine to an undercover United States

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent in St. Croix. As he did before the

District Court, Rivera maintains on appeal that the crack cocaine that he sold to the

undercover agent was different from the cocaine admitted at trial as a Government

exhibit. Interestingly, he does not contest the fact that he sold crack cocaine to the

undercover agent, only that the evidence produced at trial was not the same cocaine he

sold to the DEA officer. He argues that after the agent turned the crack cocaine over to

the drug custodian, it was somehow mingled with other drugs the agent had purchased. 

At Rivera’s trial, the undercover agent testified that, after buying crack cocaine

from Rivera, he properly secured the drugs and turned them over to the DEA officer in
3

charge of drug custody. The Government also presented testimony that the appropriate

procedures and processes were followed in securing this evidence. Further, a DEA

chemist testified that the drugs were properly analyzed. The DEA chemist also identified

these drugs in court and indicated that they were appropriately sealed and in an

untampered condition. Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the

Government, we will affirm Rivera’s conviction. Neither testimony nor physical evidence

suggested any deficiencies in the chain of custody or handling of the drug evidence;

rather, there was testimony regarding the appropriate handling of the physical evidence.

Accordingly, a rational trier of fact could have found the evidence sufficient to convict

Rivera.

We find ample reason why the jury could conclude that the drugs introduced into

evidence were indeed the same ones that Rivera sold to the undercover agent. We will

affirm Rivera’s conviction.