Opinion ID: 77991
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: The Jasen Johns Death Enhancement as to Count One (Conspiracy) for Woodyard

Text: Like Westry, Carter, and Hinton, Woodyard challenges the death enhancement on his sentence in Count One, but for a different reason. Woodyard asserts the trial court erred in applying the death enhancement to increase his sentence on Count One to a life sentence (challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury's verdict on this enhancement as well), because no evidence was presented establishing that Woodyard was a member of the conspiracy prior to Johns' death. We agree. Regarding conspirators in existence at the time of Johns' death, Carpenter identified Bip (Carter) and Calvin (Westry) as people from whom Carpenter (and Johns) would buy drugs. Shannon Jones testified she was in prison when Johns overdosed and died, and further, that she met Woodyard after she was released from prison. Leonard testified that Woodyard did not begin living at the Clay Street home until sometime in 2004. Hogue testified she did not supply Woodyard with pills for sale until sometime in 2003. Woodyard was never identified as being present during any of the executions of the several search warrants at the Clay Street home. A review of the evidence shows the earliest Woodyard may be placed in or around the Clay Street home, and hence in the conspiracy, was March 2002, upon Jones' release from prison. The government's meager response to the paucity of evidence linking Woodyard to the conspiracy prior to Johns' death is to reference Jones' testimony in which she stated she had known Woodyard since 2000, because he would stay at the home on 459 Maple Street. Woodyard rented a room from Jones' uncle, Brett, at 459 Maple Street, and Uncle Brett would sell drugs [e]very now and then. And while, as we have stated, repeated presence at the scene of drug trafficking is a circumstance standing alone that can give rise to a permissible inference of participation in the conspiracy, see, e.g., Calderon, 127 F.3d at 1326, the only evidence of Woodyard's membership in the conspiracy prior to Johns' death is evidence of Woodyard's mere presence and association with one or more of the conspirators. See United States v. Perez-Tosta, 36 F.3d 1552, 1557 (11th Cir.1994). On the basis of this portion of Jones' testimony alone, we cannot conclude that sufficient evidence was presented showing Woodyard to be a member of the conspiracy before November 27, 2001. A defendant cannot be held accountable for conduct that occurred prior to his entry into the conspiracy. United States v. Hunter, 323 F.3d 1314, 1320 (11th Cir.2003). The jury's and the trial court's finding [13] that Woodyard was a member of the conspiracy prior to Johns' death, as it is based on insufficient evidence, must therefore be set aside and the sentence on Count One vacated. [14]