Opinion ID: 766904
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence to Support Pigee's Conspiracy Conviction

Text: 68 Pigee argues that there is no evidence to support the jury's finding that he participated in a conspiracy to sell drugs with Frye, Lipscomb, and Webb. He asserts that although he did sell drugs, he did so in competition with his co-defendants, not in cooperation with them. 69 [T]he jury's verdict must be upheld if, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Blanton, 884 F.2d 973, 978 (7th Cir. 1989), citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). 70 Once a drug conspiracy is shown to exist, evidence that establishes a particular defendant's participation in that conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt, is sufficient to convict even if the connection between the defendant and the conspiracy is slight. See id. As discussed at length earlier in this opinion, the record supports the jury's findings that Pigee participated in the conspiracy as charged. Specifically, Pigee lived with Webb (one of the conspirators) and rented a house from Lipscomb (another conspirator). Melton Thomas testified that when Brian Frye (Lipscomb's husband and co- conspirator) was out of crack, Pigee would come to Frye's residence, the two men would excuse themselves for a short time, and when Frye would return from the meeting with Pigee he would have crack to sell to Thomas. We believe that, from these facts, a rational trier of fact could conclude that Pigee conspired with his co- defendants to sell drugs in Alton, Illinois. 71