Source: http://openjurist.org/988/f2d/124/united-states-v-nowlin
Timestamp: 2014-08-31 11:03:38
Document Index: 788664995

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 371', '§ 841', '§ 854', '§ 854', '§ 841', '§ 371', '§ 841', '§ 854', '§ 854', '§ 7206']

988 F2d 124 United States v. Nowlin | OpenJurist
988 F. 2d 124 - United States v. Nowlin	Home988 f2d 124 united states v. nowlin
988 F2d 124 United States v. Nowlin 988 F.2d 124
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.William Mitchell NOWLIN, Daniel Aloysius Jones, William DeeMorris, and Robert Wells, Defendants-Appellants.
Nos. 91-30429, 91-30446, 91-30460, and 91-30468.
Argued and Submitted Jan. 6, 1993.Decided March 1, 1993.As Amending on Denial of Rehearing and RehearingEn Banc April 16, 1993.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Montana, Nos. CR-90-20-H-CCL, CR-90-5-BU-CCL; Charles C. Lovell, District Judge, Presiding.
Before EUGENE A. WRIGHT, FARRIS and KLEINFELD, Circuit Judges.
Codefendants Daniel Jones and William Nowlin appeal the district court's denial of their motion to dismiss on grounds of double joepardy and collateral estoppel. Codefendants William Morris and Robert Wells appeal their jury trial convictions for conspiracy to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846, conspiracy to invest illegal drug profits into a business in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 854 and 846, and investment of proceeds from drug transactions into a business in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 854 and 855. We affirm.
On February 23, 1990, codefendants Daniel Jones and Robert Wells were indicted on one count of distributing methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) ("Butte indictment"). Subsequently, on September 21, 1990, the government filed a six count indictment against Jones and Wells, as well as three others, William Morris, William Nowlin, and Gene Browning ("Helena indictment"). All five defendants were charged in four of the counts:
Count I: conspiracy to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.
Count IV: conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846.
Count V: conspiracy to invest illegal drug profits into a business in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 854 and 846.
Count VI: investment of proceeds from drug transactions into a business in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 854 and 855.
Wells and Jones were charged in Counts II and III with filing false corporate tax returns in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 7206(2). Gene Browning accepted a plea agreement with the government and the others proceeded to trial.
The government previously had obtained guilty pleas pursuant to plea agreements from Don Wogamon and three members of his family. Wogamon was a key figure in the drug manufacturing and money laundering conspiracies. When he was first indicted in May of 1987, William Morris served as counsel for him and his wife. Once the government was able to debrief Wogamon, they obtained evidence to support charges against the five defendants named in the Helena indictment. Wogamon was one of the government's key witnesses at trial. Browning also testified pursuant to his plea agreement.
Wogamon testified that he began manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine with Daniel Jones in 1983. The following year, Jones introduced Wogamon to Robert Wells. Wells gradually became more involved with Wogamon in the manufacturing process. Wogamon said that he and Wells "cooked" methamphetamine a number of times over the next couple of years.
In September 1985, Wells and Wogamon manufactured a fifty pound batch of methamphetamine at the Santa Rosa laboratory. After completing the batch, Wells was arrested with twenty-five pounds in his car. Wells had entered Nowland's house while state agents were executing a search warrant. An agent patted down Wells and felt a hard object in his pants pocket. The agent removed a film cannister from Wells' pocket and opened it. It contained a small amount of methamphetamine. Since the agent improperly opened the cannister, the district court suppressed evidence of the methamphetamine found therein and the twenty-five pounds subsequently seized from Wells' car. Nevertheless, Wogamon testified at trial that Wells told him that he had been arrested with the twenty-five pounds. This testimony was presented by the government to explain the facts and circumstances concerning the moving of the drug lab from Santa Rosa to near Las Vegas.
The lab equipment was initially moved to trailers located on Shadow Mountain's property. Nowlin had keys to the trailers and allowed Wells and Wogamon to put the equipment there. Wells and Wogamon attempted to manufacture methamphetamine at the site, but their efforts were not very successful. Wogamon testified that Nowlin occasionally came to the site and asked