Opinion ID: 766255
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Count 4: Conspiracy with Fuller

Text: 19 Count 4, which relates to conduct concluded on July 1, 1994, refers to the existence of a conspiracy between Defendant and informant Fuller to possess with intent to distribute powder cocaine. Defendant alleges that no more than a buyer-seller relationship existed between him and Fuller. We have recognized that a buyer-seller relationship is not alone sufficient to tie a buyer to a conspiracy. United States v. Grunsfeld, 558 F.2d 1231, 1235 (6th Cir. 1977). However, additional evidence beyond the mere purchase or sale of drugs, such as evidence of repeat purchases or some enduring arrangement that implies knowledge of the scope of the conspiracy may support a conspiracy conviction. See United States v. Anderson, 89 F.3d 1306, 1310 (6th Cir. 1996) (citing United States v. Baker, 905 F.2d 1100, 1106 (7th Cir. 1990)). 20 The evidence at trial showed that Defendant regularly distributed cocaine to Fuller and that when Agent Copeland approached Fuller about a kilogram of cocaine, Fuller indicated that Defendant would want to buy the kilogram. Fuller visited Defendant and obtained from Defendant a set of triple beam scales for use in the drug transaction. The evidence also showed that Defendant demanded the return of his scales and complained to Fuller that he was losing business without them. The evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the government, reveals that Defendant was not simply a street buyer engaging in a discrete transaction, but that he knew he was involved in an ongoing conspiracy of some dimension. United States v. Phibbs, 999 F.2d 1053, 1064 (6th Cir. 1993). Therefore, we find that sufficient evidence of a conspiracy, beyond a mere buyer-seller relationship, existed to support a conviction on Count 4 against Defendant. 21