Source: http://www.leagle.com/decision/199574650F3d696_1642
Timestamp: 2014-03-12 08:44:57
Document Index: 624667293

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 841', '§ 841', '§ 841', '§ 844', '§ 5', '§ 8']

U.S. v. VAANDERING | Leagle.com Home
Citing Case U.S. v. VAANDERINGNos. 93-30280, 93-30294. 50 F.3d 696 (1995) UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
Argued and Submitted January 11, 1995.Decided March 20, 1995. James F. Halley, Weintraub & Halley, Portland, OR, for defendant-appellant Vaandering.Michael R. Levine, Asst. Federal Public Defender, Portland, OR, for defendant-appellant McMillan.Frank Noonan, Asst. U.S. Atty., Portland, OR, for plaintiff-appellee.Before: PREGERSON and TROTT, Circuit Judges, and FITZGERALD, District Judge. TROTT, Circuit Judge:
Micky Joe Vaandering appeals his jury conviction and sentence under the Sentencing Guidelines for conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846, and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841. Jeffrey Wayne McMillan appeals his jury conviction and sentence under the Sentencing Guidelines for conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846, and possession of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844(a). We affirm.
Vaandering appeals the district court's denial of his motion to suppress the evidence obtained in the search of his residence. Vaandering contends the affidavit submitted by Officer Arnold to obtain a search warrant of Vaandering's residence contained false and misleading information and omitted other material information. The district court conducted a pretrial Franks hearing but concluded the search warrant was valid. See Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978). "The district court's factual findings as to whether statements in an affidavit were false or were omitted are reversed only if clearly erroneous. Whether any omissions or misstatements are material is a mixed question of law and fact which we review de novo." United States v. Garza, 980 F.2d 546, 551 (9th Cir. 1992) (citation omitted).
Third, Vaandering argues that information contained in Officer Arnold's affidavit, some of which dated back as far as twenty-two months prior to the search, was stale. "`The mere lapse of substantial amounts of time is not controlling in a question of staleness.'" United States v. Pitts, 6 F.3d 1366, 1369 (9th Cir.1993) (quoting United States v. Dozier, 844 F.2d 701, 707 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 927, 109 S.Ct. 312, 102 L.Ed.2d 331 (1988)). "`[Where] the evidence sought is of an ongoing criminal business ... greater lapses of time are permitted if the evidence in the affidavit shows the probable existence of the activity at an earlier time.'" Id. at 1369-70 (quoting United States v. Greany, 929 F.2d 523, 525 (9th Cir.1991)). In this case, the older information was coupled with recently obtained information. The district court could properly find that this evidence was not stale and was an allowable basis upon which to find probable cause. See United States v. Foster, 711 F.2d 871, 878 (9th Cir.) (evidence of drug transactions occurring fifteen months prior to the issuance of a search warrant not stale where evidence also linked defendant to a drug sale occurring three months prior to the issuance of the search warrant), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1103, 104 S.Ct. 1602, 80 L.Ed.2d 132 (1983); United States v. Rowell, 903 F.2d 899, 903 (2d Cir.1990) (eighteen month old information not stale because evidence was of a drug distribution business); United States v. Glass Menagerie, Inc., 721 F.Supp. 54, 58-59 (S.D.N.Y.1989) (two and one-half year old information not stale because evidence sought was of a narcotics paraphernalia manufacturing business).
Even if we accept all of Vaandering's arguments as true, his challenge of the search warrant must still fail. As the district court stated:
[Even] [i]f I delete that portion in the latter portion of the affidavit, going to Officer Spang and also Grimmett, McClure, Feldt, and Browning ... this affidavit is so complete, it is so refined in its explanation of the way that this request for search warrant was developed, that I find that he still would have obtained a warrant to execute the search.
Vaandering contends for the first time on appeal that the prosecutor improperly commented on Vaandering's failure to testify and shifted the burden of proof to Vaandering by emphasizing that there was no evidence that Vaandering was employed. The record reflects Vaandering did not object to the prosecutor's statements either during or after closing arguments. We review alleged error raised for the first time on appeal for plain error. United States v. Tarazon, 989 F.2d 1045, 1051 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 114 S.Ct. 155, 126 L.Ed.2d 116 (1993).
As to the second basis of alleged error, the defendants failed to make the objection that the instruction was improper because it did not identify the defendant to which it was directed and it failed to instruct the jury it must find that someone committed the principal offense. "In the absence of a proper objection, we review jury instructions for plain error." Id. at 1244 (citation omitted). The jury instruction was not so misleading that the jury would have believed it could convict one or both defendants of aiding and abetting without believing that the law had been violated. Furthermore, "[t]he government is not required to prove precisely which defendant actually committed the crime and which defendant aided and abetted." Manual of Model Criminal Jury Instructions for the Ninth Circuit, § 5.01 (1989). Therefore, the district court did not commit plain error in instructing the jury on the elements of aiding and abetting.
The district court gave this Circuit's complete model instruction on conspiracy. That instruction includes the following language: "Similarly, a person does not become a member merely by associating with one or more persons who are conspirators, nor merely by knowing of the existence of a conspiracy." Id. at § 8.05A. This instruction was sufficient to instruct the jury on defendants' theory of defense. "A defendant is not entitled to any particular form of instruction, nor is he entitled to an instruction that merely duplicates what the jury has already been told." United States v. Lopez-Alvarez, 970 F.2d 583, 597 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 113 S.Ct. 504, 121 L.Ed.2d 440 (1992). Therefore, the district court did not err in refusing to give defendants' proposed jury instruction on conspiracy.
McMillan contends the district court erred in finding McMillan was a member of the conspiracy for six months and speculating as to the amount of drugs attributable to McMillan through the conspiracy. The district court's factual findings in the sentencing phase are reviewed for clear error. United States v. Buenrostro-Torres, 24 F.3d 1173, 1174 (9th Cir.1994). The government must establish the quantity of drugs attributable to a member of a conspiracy by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Petty, 992 F.2d 887, 891 (9th Cir. 1993).
FootNotes* The Honorable James M. Fitzgerald, Senior United States District Judge for the District of Alaska, sitting by designation. Comment