Opinion ID: 561158
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 4 Valdiosera-Godinez first argues that the evidence to convict him of possession of cocaine and conspiracy to possess it was insufficient. As to the substantive offense, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants knowingly possessed [cocaine] and intended to distribute it. Possession may be actual or constructive, may be joint among several defendants, and may be proved by direct or circumstantial evidence. United States v. Gardea Carrasco, 830 F.2d 41, 45 (5th Cir.1987). As to the offense of conspiracy, 5 the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) the existence of an agreement between two or more persons to violate the narcotics laws; (2) the defendant knew of the conspiracy; and (3) the defendant voluntarily participated in the conspiracy. Each element of the conspiracy charge must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. No element need be proved by direct evidence, but may be inferred from circumstantial evidence. An agreement may be inferred from concert of action. Voluntary participation may be inferred from a collocation of circumstances. 6 United States v. Arzola-Amaya, 867 F.2d 1504, 1511 (5th Cir.) (citations omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 322, 107 L.Ed.2d 312 (1989). 7 The government's case against Valdiosera-Godinez rested entirely on circumstantial evidence. After examining the record, however, we conclude that a rational trier of fact, viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the government, could have found the elements of the two offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. See generally United States v. Ayala, 887 F.2d 62, 67 (5th Cir.1989). We must therefore sustain the jury's verdict. 8 The evidence presented at trial showed the following: Agents Urbina and Compton discovered the defendants in a storage shed that contained only a Chrysler Dart automobile and a U-Haul packing box. The door of the shed was partially closed, lifted about five feet off the ground. While Valdiosera-Godinez was standing next to the trunk on the left side of the car, the other two defendants, who had tools in their hands, were leaning into the back seat of the car through the open rear doors. The horizontal portion of the Chrysler's back seat had been flipped forward and was resting against the front bucket seats, exposing the underside of the seat. The foam of this underside had been hollowed out in rectangular shapes. Of the two bolts that secure the vertical portion of the back seat, one had been removed and the other was halfway out. When Agent Urbina removed the second bolt, he discovered 19 rectangular bundles of 91% pure cocaine taped to the back of the vertical portion. 9 The packing box, sitting in the corner of the shed near the right front of the car, appears from the photographs to have been approximately 30 inches on a side. Significantly, the box was unsealed and completely open; exposed to view were nine more bundles of 91% pure cocaine. Parked just outside and partially blocking the shed was a Chevrolet Celebrity automobile. The foam underside of the horizontal portion of the Chevrolet's back seat had been hollowed out in a manner similar to the Chrysler's back seat. This was the situation as it existed when Agent Urbina came on the scene, which caused quite a stir. He testified: I looked in [the shed] and identified myself as a customs agent, and [the defendants'] mouths fell wide open. Their eyes got real big and they became very nervous. 10 We consider first the possession count. A rational trier of fact could conclude that the defendants each constructively possessed the cocaine. Constructive possession is the knowing exercise of, or the knowing power or right to exercise, dominion and control over the proscribed substance. Gardea Carrasco, 830 F.2d at 45 (quoting United States v. Vergara, 687 F.2d 57, 61-62 (5th Cir.1982)). A rational jury could infer that persons found in a small, enclosed space in the presence of a large, open box have the knowing power to walk several steps and gather the contents of the box into their arms. Valdiosera-Godinez asserts that his position in the storage unit precluded any line of vision to the U-Haul box. Even so, a person need not have continuous sight of an object to possess it. The only possible relevance of this fact is to suggest that Valdiosera-Godinez had, only moments before the customs agents arrived, innocently walked up and engaged strangers in conversation. This is a possibility, but not a reasonable possibility. 11 First, the position of the shed's door did not allow contact with the other two defendants without a deliberate entry. It is highly unlikely that persons involved in cocaine smuggling would allow a stranger to enter the domain of their operations to strike up a casual conversation. Second, had Valdiosera-Godinez truly been unaware of the existence of the cocaine and nature of the activities inside the storage unit, he would not have shown surprise or nervousness when Agent Urbina made himself known. His reactions imply the discovery of a criminal enterprise, not the mere interruption of a mundane discussion of auto repair. As to Valdiosera-Godinez's intent to distribute the cocaine, it is easily inferred from the drug's quantity (66 1/2 pounds), purity (91%), and value ($500,000). See generally United States v. Prieto-Tejas, 779 F.2d 1098, 1101 (5th Cir.1986). 12 The conspiracy count is subject to the same analysis. The inference of an agreement to possess and distribute cocaine is overwhelming. How else does one synthesize 66 1/2 pounds of cocaine, one car presently concealing the drug, one car prepared to conceal it, and a transfer operation in progress? Had Valdiosera-Godinez not been privy to this agreement and part of it, the other two men certainly would not have allowed him to stick around. It is irrelevant that he was not holding tools when Agent Urbina arrived. His participation in the conspiracy need have consisted of no more than handing others tools, watching for the cops, or protecting the drugs from would-be thieves. The conspiracy cases cited by Valdiosera-Godinez are distinguishable. They essentially involved defendants with mere presence at suspicious places or mere association with established conspirators. In this case, Valdiosera-Godinez's presence and association are coupled with a total absence of rational, non-inculpatory explanations of the facts. The evidence adduced at trial was sufficient to convict the defendant of the offenses charged.B. Prosecutor's Closing Arguments 13 Valdiosera-Godinez next argues that the prosecutor made two improper statements to the jury in his closing arguments. First, he alleges that the government improperly bolstered its case by advising the jury [that] at the time of the arrest, [Valdiosera-Godinez] had been giving directions and orders to Pescador and Garcia-Gil while they were working inside the vehicle in the storage shed. Because the government had adduced no evidence in support of this point, the statement was thus illegitimate and prejudicial. We conclude otherwise. The challenged statement was as follows: 14 A person although not in actual possession knowingly has both the power and attention [sic] at a given time to exercise dominion and control over a thing either directly or through other people. Well, these two people with the wrenches were working on [the vehicle], ladies and gentlemen, at the direction of the third person, Mr. Valdiosera. That's the inference to be drawn.... He was advising them and telling them what to do. 15 Valdiosera-Godinez did not object to the statement. Accordingly, he must show that it amounted to plain error, error that must be obvious, substantial, and so basic and prejudicial that the resulting trial lacks the fundamental elements of justice. See United States v. Davis, 831 F.2d 63, 66 (5th Cir.1987) (quoting United States v. Birdsell, 775 F.2d 645, 653 (5th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1119, 106 S.Ct. 1979, 90 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986)). 16 Clearly, we have held, an attorney may state to the jury the inferences and conclusions he wishes them to draw from the evidence. So long as he suggest[s] only those conclusions and inferences that are based on the evidence, he does nothing improper. Id. The facts in evidence showed that Pescador and Garcia-Gil were working on a vehicle in and around which large amounts of cocaine were found and that Valdiosera-Godinez was standing next to the vehicle in a tightly-confined space. With or without the prosecutor's help, the jury could reasonably have inferred that Valdiosera-Godinez was directing the other two men. The prosecutor did not assert that Valdiosera-Godinez was in fact directing them. He said only: That's the inference to be made (emphasis added). If this comment is error at all, it is hardly plain error prejudicial enough to require reversal. 17 Second, Valdiosera-Godinez alleges that the government improperly commented on the exercise of his right not to testify at trial, in violation of Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed.2d 106 (1965). The challenged comment, to which Valdiosera-Godinez did not object, was part of the prosecutor's rebuttal: 18 I wish that there was an instrument devised so I could walk up to [the defendants] and just focus this little kind of x-ray machine into their head[s] and say, are you in this conspiracy, and look inside their head[s] with this little machine and find an answer there. It's not the way it really works, because there is no such kind of machine as that. What you find out and how you judge a conspiracy is by concerted action, the concert of action in this particular case. 19 Because this statement did not obviously refer to Valdiosera-Godinez's exercise of his right not to testify, we apply the rule that [a] prosecutor's argument will be deemed a reference to defendant's failure to testify if (1) such comment is the prosecutor's manifest intent or (2) it is of such a character 'that the jury would naturally and necessarily' interpret the comment as such. United States v. Soudan, 812 F.2d 920, 930 (5th Cir.1986) (per curiam), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1052, 107 S.Ct. 2187, 95 L.Ed.2d 843 (1987). Manifestly, the statement was intended to rebut the rather common argument of defense counsel in conspiracy cases that the government's failure to offer eyewitness testimony or other direct evidence of a formal agreement between the co-conspirators is fatal to its case. Furthermore, no reasonable juror would even remotely connect this comment to any defendant's failure to testify. The statement was not plain error. We reject the challenges to the closing arguments. C. Jury Instructions on Conspiracy 20 Finally, Valdiosera-Godinez complains that the trial court gave contradictory and confusing instructions to the jury on the meaning of conspiracy, which relieved the government of its burden of proof. The court's definition of conspiracy began: A conspiracy is a combination or agreement of two or more persons ... to accomplish some unlawful purpose. Four sentences later, the court explained: In order to establish a conspiracy offense it is not necessary for the government to prove that ... those who were members had entered into any formal type of agreement. These instructions do not contradict one another. A reasonable juror would interpret them to mean: conspiracy requires an agreement, but not necessarily a formal agreement. Indeed, our court has used very similar language to define conspiracy: The essence of a conspiracy is 'an agreement to violate the narcotics laws.' The government need not prove the existence of a formal agreement to establish a conspiracy.... United States v. Williams-Hendricks, 805 F.2d 496, 502 (5th Cir.1986) (quoting United States v. Davis, 666 F.2d 195, 201 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982)). 21 As further evidence of confusion, Valdiosera-Godinez points to a note from the jury that asked the court to Please define conspiracy. Citing United States v. Cowan, 819 F.2d 89 (5th Cir.1987), in which the court reversed a conviction because the trial judge impermissibly influenced the jury to return a verdict, Valdiosera-Godinez speculates that the district court conducted ex parte communication with the jury. It is somewhat troubling that the record contains no indication of what, if any, response the court made to the jury's note. In the absence of any colorable suggestion of ex parte contact, however, we assume that the jury simply received a written copy of the charge. Because the charge accurately stated the law of conspiracy, the jury's verdict against Valdiosera-Godinez was not infirm.