Opinion ID: 2787038
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Admission of Antonio Turner’s Arrest and Video

Text: Antonio Turner was arrested on March 12, 2011, after a traffic stop, and the arrest was videotaped by law enforcement. Antonio Turner filed a motion to suppress any statements he made during the encounter with the officers, but the district court denied it. On appeal, he argues the district court erred “in allowing, over [his] objections, any admission by Antonio Turner concerning his arrest on March 12, 2011.” At trial, the government did offer the video of his arrest as evidence, but the video was played to the jury without sound. Antonio Turner makes no allegation that, contrary to the trial record, the jury heard any of the conversations recorded on the video. Because any statements Antonio Turner may have made during his arrest were not admitted at trial, any alleged error in denying the motion to suppress those -22- statements is harmless.13 See United States v. Jones, 801 F.2d 304, 313 (8th Cir. 1986) (holding that error was not prejudicial because evidence to be suppressed was never entered at trial and defendant failed to “allege that the government bolstered its case in any way with the evidence it discovered”). E. Donald Turner’s Motion for Judgment of Acquittal At the close of the government’s case, Donald Turner moved for judgment of acquittal on the conspiracy count, asserting that the majority of the government’s evidence to support his involvement in the conspiracy came from self-interested witnesses who lacked credibility—specifically Joe Lenzie Turner and Jerriereneika Dorsey. As a result, he argued, there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to link him to, and convict him of, a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. The district court denied the motion. We review the district court’s denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal based on the sufficiency of the evidence de novo and “affirm unless, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government and accepting all reasonable inferences that may be drawn in favor of the verdict, no reasonable jury could have 13 The district court also denied Antonio Turner’s motion to suppress “physical evidence.” Antonio Turner does not appeal this ruling. He does assert that “the evidence seized as a result of the questioning” that took place before Antonio Turner was given Miranda warnings must also be suppressed, but he does not identify what evidence the district court erroneously failed to suppress. Because Antonio Turner fails in his burden to show a nexus between any physical evidence presented at trial and his allegedly custodial statements, we decline to address this argument on appeal. See United States v. Hastings, 685 F.3d 724, 728 (8th Cir. 2012) (concluding the defendant “bears the burden of establishing a nexus between the alleged constitutional violation and the discovery of the [evidence to be suppressed]”). -23- found [the defendant] guilty.” United States v. Chatmon, 742 F.3d 350, 352 (8th Cir. 2014) (quotation omitted) (alteration in original). “In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, however, we do not review the credibility of the witnesses.” United States v. Tarnow, 705 F.3d 809, 814 (8th Cir. 2013). “It is the function of the jury, not an appellate court, to . . . judge the credibility of witnesses. Such credibility findings are virtually unreviewable on appeal.” Id. (quotation omitted) (alteration in original). At trial, the government relied heavily on cooperating witnesses to describe for the jury the nature and scope of the alleged conspiracy. Joe Lenzie Turner testified that he bought cocaine with Donald Turner, that Donald Turner had driven him to pick up cocaine, and that he sold cocaine to Donald Turner for re-distribution. Jerriereneika Dorsey’s testimony concerning Donald Turner’s involvement in cocaine trafficking was more limited, but she did tell the jury that Donald Turner had “put[] money in” for quantities of cocaine. Donald Turner’s sole argument on appeal is that these witnesses were not credible. At trial, the jury heard that both of them had entered cooperation plea agreements. The jury learned about the terms of those agreements and the witnesses’ expectations in signing them. In addition, before each of these witnesses testified, the district court specifically instructed the jury: “You may give the testimony of this witness such weight you think it deserves. Whether or not the testimony of a witness may have been influenced by [his or her] hope of receiving a reduced sentence is for you to decide.” The jury had a full opportunity to make its own credibility determinations about both Joe Lenzie Turner and Jerriereneika Dorsey, and the district court specifically instructed it to do so. Like the district court, we will not weigh the credibility of witnesses. See United States v. Seibel, 712 F.3d 1229, 1237 (8th Cir. 2013). The district court did not err in denying Donald Turner’s motion for judgment of acquittal. -24- F. Sufficiency of the Evidence Regarding Antonio Turner Antonio Turner asserts the evidence at trial was insufficient to support his conviction for conspiracy. To establish this charge, the government has the burden of showing there was a conspiracy, that the defendant knew of the conspiracy, and that the defendant intentionally joined the conspiracy. United States v. Aguilar, 743 F.3d 1144, 1148 (8th Cir. 2014). Antonio Turner argues the evidence failed to show he either knew of or intentionally joined the conspiracy. We review “the sufficiency of the evidence in a jury trial de novo, but we examine the evidence in a light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, resolving factual disputes and accepting all reasonable inferences in favor of upholding the verdict.” Manning, 738 F.3d at 945 (internal citation omitted). “We will affirm a jury’s verdict if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. (quotation omitted). At trial, Joe Lenzie Turner testified about Antonio Turner’s involvement in the conspiracy. According to Joe Lenzie Turner, Antonio Turner was distributing drugs in 2009; and in 2010, he was getting cocaine from Joe Lenzie Turner in one to two ounce quantities for re-distribution. Joe Lenzie Turner also testified that after Antonio Turner was released following his March 2011 arrest, an uncle provided Antonio Turner with drugs for distribution; Joe Lenzie Turner later resumed supplying drugs to Antonio Turner. Joe Lenzie Turner also told the jury that Antonio Turner knew how to cook powder cocaine into crack cocaine and that Antonio Turner “did real good business. He got rid of his drugs fast and paid me good.” And the jury heard intercepted phone conversations between Joe Lenzie Turner and Antonio Turner during which they talked about cocaine sales and meetings relating to the drug operation. -25- Finally, the jury heard evidence that a confidential informant conducted three controlled buys of cocaine from Antonio Turner in 2010, all of which were monitored and recorded by law enforcement. This same informant testified that Antonio Turner was one of his sources for both powder and crack cocaine for approximately one year prior to the controlled transactions. Viewing the evidence presented at trial in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, a reasonable jury could have found Antonio Turner guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on the conspiracy charge. Manning, 738 F.3d at 945. G. Antonio Turner’s Sentencing Antonio Turner argues the district court erred at sentencing by failing to provide an individualized assessment of the drug quantity attributable to him in determining the appropriate advisory Guidelines range. When reviewing the district court’s determination of the applicable Guidelines range, we review factual findings for clear error and the district court’s “construction and application of the Guidelines de novo.” United States v. Pappas, 715 F.3d 225, 228 (8th Cir. 2013) (quotation omitted). Antonio Turner’s sentence was not determined by the drug-quantity calculation made at sentencing. Instead, it was dictated by the statute. The jury found Antonio Turner guilty of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and one count of distribution of cocaine.14 See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(ii). Because the government gave notice of its intent to seek 14 The distribution charge was not accompanied by a drug quantity. However, it was Antonio Turner’s conviction on the conspiracy charge, not on the distribution charge, that resulted in a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. -26- an enhanced penalty pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 851, Antonio Turner, upon conviction for the charged conspiracy, faced a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment as a result of his prior convictions. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 851. The district court concluded Antonio Turner did in fact have two prior qualifying convictions and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment. At that point, the advisory Guidelines range and the statutory mandatory minimum sentence became the same. USSG § 5G1.2 cmt. n.3(B) (“In particular, where a statutorily required minimum sentence on any count is greater than the maximum of the applicable guideline range, the statutorily required minimum sentence on that count shall be the guideline sentence on all counts.”). Any alleged error in the calculation of the total quantity of drugs attributable to Antonio Turner for purposes of determining his Guidelines range was harmless; based on his two prior felony drug convictions, the district court had no choice but to impose a life sentence. H. Admission of Cocaine Quantities Donald Turner asserts the district court erred when it admitted at trial evidence of cocaine seized by law enforcement on three separate occasions—August 20, 2010; March 12, 2011; and June 21, 2011—because he had no connection to those drug quantities. “We review a district court’s evidentiary rulings for clear abuse of discretion, reversing only when an improper evidentiary ruling affected the defendant’s substantial rights or had more than a slight influence on the verdict.” United States v. Espinoza, 684 F.3d 766, 778 (8th Cir. 2012) (quotation omitted). Donald Turner failed to object to the inclusion of this evidence at trial, so plain-error review applies. Id. We find no plain error. “In a conspiracy case, each member of a conspiracy may be held criminally liable for any substantive crime committed by a co-conspirator -27- in the course and furtherance of the conspiracy, even though those members did not participate in or agree to the specific criminal act.” Id. (quotation omitted). “[S]o long as the partnership in crime continues . . . an overt act of one partner may be the act of all without any new agreement specifically directed to that act.” Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 646–47 (1946) (quotation omitted). The cocaine seized on the three dates at issue was sold, purchased, possessed, or distributed by individuals shown at trial to be part of the same charged conspiracy. Donald Turner argues he was not a participant in those criminal acts. Donald Turner may not have been directly involved in these transactions, but that is not the standard for determining whether the evidence is admissible. Evidence at trial showed that Donald Turner was a member of a conspiracy that included the individuals involved in the three contested incidents, and evidence of the seized cocaine on these occasions was relevant to show the nature and extent of the conspiracy. See United States v. Johnston, 353 F.3d 617, 624 (8th Cir. 2003) (co-conspirator “can still be held responsible for the reasonably foreseeable [controlled] buys that occurred on behalf of the conspiracy” even if he was not directly involved in those buys).