Opinion ID: 72120
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence of Agreement and Participation

Text: Edica first argues that the evidence was insufficient to support her conspiracy conviction because it failed to show that she agreed with Zonia to possess and transport a controlled substance or that she “participated” in the conspiracy. She contends that her mere presence in Zonia’s truck while Pancho hooked the trailer to it was insufficient to prove either an agreement or her 6 No. 08-41362 participation. She asserts that, to the extent she stated that she was going to be paid $2,000 to $3,000, the question remains, “what for?” To support a conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, the Government must prove an agreement between two or more people to violate narcotics laws, the defendant’s knowledge of the agreement, and the defendant’s voluntary participation in the conspiracy. United States v. Patino-Prado, 533 F.3d 304, 309 (5th Cir. 2008). Although Edica asserts that the Government did not prove all three of these elements, she makes no argument about the second element; she challenges only the sufficiency of the evidence to show an agreement and her voluntary participation. See United States v. Stalnaker, 571 F.3d 428, 433 (5th Cir. 2009) (“Where a defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to convict him but fails to make any argument whatsoever to support this contention, the issue is considered abandoned.”) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The agreement element was proved by Edica’s admission to the ICE agents that she and another person agreed to pick up a trailer in Nuevo Laredo that was going to be loaded with drugs. The evidence showed that Edica participated in the conspiracy by traveling to Nuevo Laredo and accompanying Zonia when the trailer loaded with drugs was hooked to Zonia’s vehicle. To the extent this shows that Edica was merely present, there was other circumstantial evidence that supports an inference of her participation. See Percel, 553 F.3d at 910 (“Though mere presence at a crime scene is insufficient to support an inference of participation in a conspiracy, the jury may consider presence and association, along with other evidence, in finding conspiratorial activity by the defendant.”). Edica admitted that she was going to paid a portion of her coconspirator’s payment for picking up the trailer. It is implausible that Edica would be paid between $2,000 and $3,000 if she was not participating in the conspiracy. Additionally, Edica told the agents that she had left her car at the H.E.B. 7 No. 08-41362 parking lot in Laredo, where she and her coconspirator were to leave the trailer. A reasonable jury could conclude from this evidence that both the agreement and participation elements of Edica’s conspiracy conviction were established beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979).