Opinion ID: 2994827
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Violent Crimes to Maintain or Increase

Text: Position in Enterprise Taylor, Stork, and Wafford all challenge the sufficiency of the evidence as to their convictions for the commission of a violent crime in aid of racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. sec. 1959, which, in part, provides: Whoever, as consideration for the receipt of, or as consideration for a promise or agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary value from an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity, or for the purpose of gaining entrance to or maintaining or increasing position in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity, murders, kidnaps, maims, assaults with a dangerous weapon, commits assault resulting in serious bodily injury upon, or threatens to commit a crime of violence against any individual . . . shall be punished . . . . 18 U.S.C. sec. 1959(a). The basic instruction given to the jury for all three defendants required a finding that (1) the Dawg Life street gang existed and was an enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affected, interstate or foreign commerce, (2) that the Dawg Life street gang engaged in racketeering activity, (3) that defendant committed a specific violent crime under Indiana law, and (4) that defendant committed the violent crime for the purpose of gaining entrance to or maintaining or increasing position in the Dawg Life street gang. The government is required to prove that the defendant’s general purpose in committing the crime of violence was to maintain or increase his position in the criminal enterprise. There was testimony that the Dawg Life gang was an ongoing enterprise involved in the sale of illegal drugs. The gang operated on principles of violence and that violence was a prerequisite for rewarding and promoting members. There was also testimony that acts of violence were a part of the Dawg Life culture and violence was the expected behavior in order to maintain one’s status within the gang.
Stork was charged with committing a battery with a dangerous weapon resulting in the serious bodily injury of Charlotte Flemming and aiding and abetting in a battery. Witnesses provided evidence that occupants in the car yelled gang things and were throwing up O.B.K. signs prior to the shooting. Stork admitted to having fired a handgun in the direction of the house and conceded that gang slogans were shouted, although they probably came from another car. There was also testimony that Stork had discussed the shooting and his problems with firing the gun at one of the gang meetings. Given the general testimony as to the importance of violence in Dawg Life, and the specific testimony as to the shooting, there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooting was the type of behavior encouraged and demanded of members of Dawg Life in order to maintain their status within the gang. See Rosalez-Cortez, 19 F.3d at 1215.
Taylor was charged with committing a battery with a dangerous weapon resulting in the serious bodily injury of David Carrell. The general testimony of gang violence, along with Carrell’s identification of Taylor as the shooter, was sufficient for the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Taylor’s violent act was part of his behavior as a member of Dawg Life, and that behavior allowed him to, at a minimum, maintain his status within the gang.
Wafford was charged with committing attempted battery with a dangerous weapon for the attempted shooting of David Carrell. Wafford concedes that he shot at Carrell and does not deny that he was involved in Dawg Life’s crack house operations. However, he argues that theevidence did not prove that the purpose of the shooting was to gain entrance to, maintain, or increase his position in Dawg Life. One of the gang members who testified stated that he and Wafford were the shooters and that the Carrell shooting was a spur of the moment decision having nothing to do with Dawg Life. He also testified that he believed Carrell had shot at Wafford sometime in the past but was unable to elaborate. There was also testimony from one of the police officers who regularly patrolled the southeast side and was familiar with gang activity. The officer explained that he had been very aggressive in making cocaine arrests in the Dawg Life territory and taking people to jail. This officer stated he was stopped by Wafford while on patrol in August of 1998, several weeks before the shooting. He said that Wafford introduced himself and told the officer that Wafford knew who he (the officer) was. The officer stated that Wafford told him he (Wafford) was an O.G., and he wanted the officer to lighten up on the Little Locs in the neighborhood. (As a high-ranking O.G., Wafford would not usually sell the drugs himself, but would supervise the sales carried out by the lower-ranking members, normally the Little Locs.) There was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that Wafford believed that Carrell’s mother was snitching to the police about the crack house, which, testimony showed, was controlled by Dawg Life members, and from which place Wafford supervised crack sales. The jury could reasonably have found that Wafford, as an O.G., was acting to protect and further the Dawg Life enterprise, carrying out his responsibilities as required by his position within the gang. Basically, all three defendants are asking this court to reweigh the evidence, which we may not do. United States v. Mojica, 984 F.2d 1426, 1435 (7th Cir. 1993) (It is not the task of this appellate court to reconsider the evidence or assess the credibility of the witnesses.). As the defendants’ sufficiency of the evidence arguments rely on the weight the jury gave to the witnesses’ testimony, we find there was sufficient evidence to convict each one of committing a violent crime in order to maintain his position within the criminal enterprise.