Opinion ID: 157151
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admissibility of Co-conspirator Statements

Text: 11 Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya argues that the district court erred in admitting Mr. Bonillo-Esqueda's testimony about statements that Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya made. According to Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya, the trial judge improperly found that such testimony contained co-conspirator statements, which are non-hearsay under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E). Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya contends that the court erred in not holding a pre-trial James hearing to make the three factual determinations necessary to admit co-conspirator statements: (1) that a conspiracy existed, (2) that both the declarant and the defendant were members of the conspiracy, and (3) that the statements were made in the course of the conspiracy. See United States v. Owens, 70 F.3d 1118, 1123 (10th Cir.1995); United States v. James, 590 F.2d 575, 582 (5th Cir.1979). 12 The record shows that Mr. Bonillo-Esqueda testified to out-of-court conversations between himself, Jose, and Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya. See 2 R. at 56-58. His testimony encompassed out-of-court declarations by Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya admissible as non-hearsay under two distinct sub-sections of Fed.R.Evid. 801(d). Although the district court admitted all of these statements under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E), see 2 R. at 115, Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya's out-of-court statements were also party admissions under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(A). See United States v. Mayes, 917 F.2d 457, 463 and n. 8 (10th Cir.1990) (holding that statements by defendants in tape-recorded conversations with co-conspirators were party admissions). Mr. Bonillo-Esqueda recounted a conversation in which the defendant admitted critical elements of the offense with which he was charged: possession of methamphetamine, intent to sell it to Jose, the price, and the date and time that he hoped to close the deal. See 2 R. at 56-58. Such statements fall squarely within the parameters of Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(A). See Mayes, 917 F.2d at 463; see also United States v. Cass, 127 F.3d 1218, 1222 & n. 2 (10th Cir.1997), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 1101, 140 L.Ed.2d 155 (1998). Hence, we need not reach the James issue with regard to them. 13 However, because the district court admitted remarks attributed to both the defendant and Mr. Bonillo-Esqueda under the co-conspirator rule, and because of the apparent confusion about which statements defense counsel alleged to be inadmissible hearsay, see 2 R. at 114-15, we take this opportunity to reiterate our strong preference for James proceedings where the government relies on co-conspirator statements. See United States v. Lopez-Gutierrez, 83 F.3d 1235, 1242 (10th Cir.1996); Owens, 70 F.3d at 1123. 14 Under Tenth Circuit law, the district court may satisfy the prerequisites for admission of a co-conspirator statement through either of two means: by holding a James hearing or by provisionally admitting the statement with the caveat that ... the party offering [it] must prove the existence of the predicate conspiracy through trial testimony or other evidence. Owens, 70 F.3d at 1123. In either case, the court may consider the hearsay statement itself, as well as independent factors, in determining whether the government has established a conspiracy by a preponderance of the evidence. See Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2); see also United States v. Bourjaily, 483 U.S. 171, 181, 107 S.Ct. 2775, 97 L.Ed.2d 144(1987). 15 Here, the presence of Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya at the restaurant and in the alley with methamphetamine in his hands, the transfer of marked buy money between himself and Mr. Bonillo-Esqueda, combined with the provisionally admitted hearsay testimony, support the court's determination that a conspiracy existed. We reject Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya's argument that he had no more than a buyer-seller relationship with Mr. Bonillo-Esqueda. As we noted in United States v. Flores, 149 F.3d 1272, 1277 (10th Cir.1998), the purpose of the buyer-seller rule is to separate consumers, who do not plan to redistribute drugs for profit, from street-level, mid-level, and other distributors. Id.; see also United States v. Ivy, 83 F.3d 1266, 1285 (10th Cir.1996). Neither Mr. Gonzalez-Montoya, nor Mr. Bonillo-Esqueda, qualified as a mere consumer. 16 Because Mr. Bonillo-Esqueda's testimony contained both non-hearsay party admissions and statements that the government proved were made in furtherance of the conspiracy, we hold that it was properly admitted. However, this case underscores our preference for the use of pre-trial hearings to determine the existence of the predicate conspiracy.